'Just mangled': Five people dead after more than 100 cars crash
At least five people have been killed after a massive crash involving more than 100 cars on a Texan highway.
The accident occurred on Interstate-35W around 6.30am on Thursday (local time) as a winter storm dropped freezing rain, sleet and snow on parts of the US.
Horrific photos show the massive pile of crumpled cars and 18-wheeler trucks, some carrying cars on top.
Some vehicles appear to have ended up on top of one another and almost all have serious damage.
Fort Worth police spokesperson, Officer Daniel Segura, told CBS 11 DFW five people were killed in the crash and 36 others were rushed to hospital, several in critical condition.
“The vehicles are just mangled,” said Matt Zavadsky, spokesman for MedStar, which provides the ambulance service for the area.
“Multiple tow trucks are on scene. It’s going to take a lot to disentangle this wreck.”
Fort Worth Fire Department public information officer Mike Drivdahl said crews were going from vehicle to vehicle to check for anybody still trapped inside.
“First responders actually had difficulty getting to the vehicles,” Mr Drivdahl said.
“As they were making their way on the freeway to get to those vehicles, it is very slippery.
“We did have to get quite a bit of sand out here… we did everything we could to get as much traction as possible.”
Driver saw crashes in front of him but couldn't brake in time
One of the driver’s involved in the crash, Michael Howard, told the publication he saw the crashes in front of him but couldn’t brake in time.
“You don’t see the ice, ‘til you feel it… You can’t stop, so I steered off into that wall… then the people behind me just bam, bam, bam, bam,” Howard said.
The highway reportedly remains closed.
Police set up a reunification centre for family members at a community centre.
Farther south, in Austin, more than two dozen vehicles were involved in a pile-up on an icy highway, and five people were taken to a hospital, emergency officials said.
The storm came as a polar vortex – swirling air that normally sits over the Earth’s poles – moved near the US-Canada border, resulting in colder weather farther south than usual.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
