100 Plus Vehicle Wreck in Texas on Thanksgiving Kills Two
On behalf of Brown & Crouppen, P.C. posted in Motor Vehicle Accident on Monday, November 26, 2012
As winter begins in the Midwest, weather worries change from thunderstorms and tornados to fog, ice storms and blizzards. While St. Louis has experienced some minor fog recently, the 100-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in Texas points out how quickly something like fog can become exceedingly dangerous on the highway.
Dense fog was reported in the area at the time, and the first multi-vehicle crash then triggered a chain-reaction pileup 75 miles east of Houston that involved more than 140 vehicles and left two victims dead and an estimated 120 injured.
The massive crash left the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 closed for four hours, while the eastbound lanes did not reopen until after 5:00pm on Thanksgiving.
The two people killed were in a SUV when they were struck from behind by an 18-wheel semi-truck. Truck accidents are particularly dangerous in these types of conditions, as the fog can suddenly close in, visibility can rapidly deteriorate and large trucks require significantly longer stopping distances than cars.
When you drive in fog, you should remember to slow down. Some reports indicate speed was a factor in the Texas crashes, with traffic driving faster than conditions would permit.
You should turn on all of your lights, except your high-beams (which reflect back in the fog and lower your ability to see), and if necessary exit the highway when the fog is very heavy.
Interstates are particularly dangerous in fog due to high speeds and traffic volume, which makes chain-reaction accidents particularly likely and deadly.
Source: CNN, “Fog suspected in 100-vehicle Texas wrecks that claim at least two lives,” Vivian Kuo, November 22, 2012