130 Vehicles Pile Up In Texas Interstate, Resulting 6 Deaths And Several Injuries
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : February 12, 2021A winter storm on Thursday caused a massive crash of more than 130 vehicles in one of Texas’ icy interstates which resulted in 6 deaths and dozens of injuries.
The winter storm was accompanied by a drop of freezing rain, sleet, and snow in various parts of the U.S.
The crash occurred on Interstate near downtown Fort Worth, where massive vehicles crashed and piled up on top of others.
130 Vehicles Pile Up In Texas Interstate, Resulting 6 Deaths And Several Injuries
Jim Davis, the Fire Chief of Fort Worth said that various people were trapped under the confines of their vehicles. Those who were stuck inside the pile also required hydraulic rescue equipment to be rescued out.
The ambulance services were provided on the site by Medstar, and its spokesperson Matt Zavadsky said that approximately 65 people were hospitalized.
36 of the injured were taken by ambulance from the site of the crash, among which three are dealing with critical conditions of injury. Many others were treated at the site and soon released.
Officials said that the crash occurred in the early morning around 6. During which many of the victims were heading to and from work. Staff from many hospitals and other emergency services were also involved in the crash, including police officers.
Zacadsky said that they could see a lot of people who became victims of the crash were in scrubs, that had their hospital IDs. He added that some of the victims were already known to the people in his rescue team.
He also said that the icy roadway was so treacherous that caused some of the vehicles to be out of control. These vehicles kept falling on the scene and the rest of the vehicles started piling upon them.
The ambulances of Medstar stored a mixture of salt and sand which the crew used on the site. During their rescue attempts, one of their ambulances was also hit with minor damages, but the crew members in it were safe.
Neil Noakes, the Chief of police in Fort Worth said that three of the officers were injured in the crash as they were on their way to work. One another officer was also injured while he was at the site working on rescue measures. All of these officers were hospitalized with minor injuries and have been released after treatment.
Some of the vehicles crumbled to hint at the extent of the crash.
Steve Goss, a meteorologist on the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Services said that the southern part of the country, at the U.S- Canada border, became unusually colder as a result of the ice storm that came as a polar vortex.
Presently, a significant part of the country is getting unreasonably colder air which is staying in the south, east of the Rocky Mountains.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.