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2 Dead In 100-Car Pileup on Highway 99, CHP Says - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco
2 Dead In 100-Car Pileup on Highway 99, CHP Says
CHP: Fresno Pileup Resembles 'Something Out Of A Movie'
Dense fog along a busy highway was blamed for a massive pileup of as many as 100 cars, killing two people and injuring dozens, the California Highway Patrol said.
At least nine big rigs were involved in the pileup on northbound Highway 99 just south of Fresno, CHP officials said. No hazardous materials were spilled.
"It looked like something out of a movie, walking up and seeing all the cars mangled and crushed," said CHP Officer Paul Solorzano Jr.
A 6-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man traveling in separate vehicles were killed in the chain-reaction collisions around 7:45 a.m., he said.
"There was probably 2-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad," said Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."
AP
Onlookers gaze at the site of a fatality where more than 100 cars were involved in a series of collisions on Hwy 99 Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 in Fresno, Calif. More
Rescuers had to extract several people trapped in the wreckage, and paramedics transported more than three dozen patients to the hospital with injuries, Fresno City Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.
"Everybody was trying to miss everybody, but it was impossible not to get hit," said Cindy Ramirez, 21, of Selma, whose purple Mazda pickup truck was rear-ended. "I'm fine physically, but I keep thinking about all of the things that could have happened."
Hours after the accident, the freeway was littered with smashed cars and trucks, broken gas, auto parts and blood. A big rig carrying stacked crates of live turkeys was stranded on the normally busy highway.
Crash victims sat near the wreckage, waiting to be interviewed by investigators.
The freeway's northbound lanes were shut down indefinitely as investigators worked to determine the cause of the crash. Traffic backed up for miles south of the wreckage. Southbound lanes remained opened.
Thick seasonal fog known as "Tule fog" typically occurs in Central California in the late fall and winter. A stretch of the highway several miles south was the scene of an autumn 74-car pileup nearly a decade ago that left two people dead.
"There was probably two-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad," said Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."
AP
A tractor-trailer truck is lifted up and over a crushed car at the scene where more than 100 cars were involved in a series of collisions on Hwy 99 Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 in Fresno, Calif. More
Micky Padilla and his family were driving to a baptism when they heard the sound of metal screeching, struggled to brake and slammed into a Nissan Maxima.
Padilla ran out and found a man bleeding in a white pickup. He was still breathing minutes later when firefighters arrived, but later died on the highway, Padilla said.
"It was just bang, bang all around us," Padilla said, shaking his head as he stood next to a puddle of blood on the blacktop. "I can't believe I still have my wife and my kids. Someone was looking out for us."
Geez that's crazy!
2 Dead In 100-Car Pileup on Highway 99, CHP Says
CHP: Fresno Pileup Resembles 'Something Out Of A Movie'
Dense fog along a busy highway was blamed for a massive pileup of as many as 100 cars, killing two people and injuring dozens, the California Highway Patrol said.
At least nine big rigs were involved in the pileup on northbound Highway 99 just south of Fresno, CHP officials said. No hazardous materials were spilled.
"It looked like something out of a movie, walking up and seeing all the cars mangled and crushed," said CHP Officer Paul Solorzano Jr.
A 6-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man traveling in separate vehicles were killed in the chain-reaction collisions around 7:45 a.m., he said.
"There was probably 2-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad," said Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."
AP
Onlookers gaze at the site of a fatality where more than 100 cars were involved in a series of collisions on Hwy 99 Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 in Fresno, Calif. More
Rescuers had to extract several people trapped in the wreckage, and paramedics transported more than three dozen patients to the hospital with injuries, Fresno City Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.
"Everybody was trying to miss everybody, but it was impossible not to get hit," said Cindy Ramirez, 21, of Selma, whose purple Mazda pickup truck was rear-ended. "I'm fine physically, but I keep thinking about all of the things that could have happened."
Hours after the accident, the freeway was littered with smashed cars and trucks, broken gas, auto parts and blood. A big rig carrying stacked crates of live turkeys was stranded on the normally busy highway.
Crash victims sat near the wreckage, waiting to be interviewed by investigators.
The freeway's northbound lanes were shut down indefinitely as investigators worked to determine the cause of the crash. Traffic backed up for miles south of the wreckage. Southbound lanes remained opened.
Thick seasonal fog known as "Tule fog" typically occurs in Central California in the late fall and winter. A stretch of the highway several miles south was the scene of an autumn 74-car pileup nearly a decade ago that left two people dead.
"There was probably two-foot visibility in the fog when I got here. It was really bad," said Mike Bowman, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It looked like chaos. Cars were backed up on top of each other."
AP
A tractor-trailer truck is lifted up and over a crushed car at the scene where more than 100 cars were involved in a series of collisions on Hwy 99 Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 in Fresno, Calif. More
Micky Padilla and his family were driving to a baptism when they heard the sound of metal screeching, struggled to brake and slammed into a Nissan Maxima.
Padilla ran out and found a man bleeding in a white pickup. He was still breathing minutes later when firefighters arrived, but later died on the highway, Padilla said.
"It was just bang, bang all around us," Padilla said, shaking his head as he stood next to a puddle of blood on the blacktop. "I can't believe I still have my wife and my kids. Someone was looking out for us."
Geez that's crazy!
I hate to drive in the fog! I get so panic and pull over no matter what for safety!!! And turn the hazard lights on.
