Florida Highway Pileup Kills At Least 10 People
The Florida Highway Patrol says 10 people died in a series of early-morning crashes yesterday on a dark highway that was shrouded in haze and smoke. Officials say at least 18 were injured in crashes on both sides of Interstate 75 south of Gainesville shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday. When rescuers first arrived, they could only listen for screams and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in wreckage that was strewn for nearly a mile, police said. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup. The interstate had been closed for a time before the accidents because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire that may have been intentionally set. At least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flames. All six lanes of the interstate were closed most of the afternoon as investigators surveyed the site and firefighters put out the last of the flames. It was not clear when the highway would fully reopen because part of the road melted, police said.
The Florida Highway Patrol says 10 people died in a series of early-morning crashes yesterday on a dark highway that was shrouded in haze and smoke. Officials say at least 18 were injured in crashes on both sides of Interstate 75 south of Gainesville shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday. When rescuers first arrived, they could only listen for screams and moans because the poor visibility made it difficult to find victims in wreckage that was strewn for nearly a mile, police said. Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the pileup. The interstate had been closed for a time before the accidents because of the mixture of fog and heavy smoke from a brush fire that may have been intentionally set. At least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved, and some burst into flames. All six lanes of the interstate were closed most of the afternoon as investigators surveyed the site and firefighters put out the last of the flames. It was not clear when the highway would fully reopen because part of the road melted, police said.
