Traffic backs up on the eastbound lane of Interstate 10 on Thanksgiving after a multi-vehicle accident in southeast Texas.(Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, AP)
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Two people died and more than 80 people were
hurt Thursday when at least 140 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a
pileup that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities
rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage.
The collision
occurred in extremely foggy conditions at about 8:45 a.m. Thanksgiving
Day on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80
miles east of Houston.
A man and a woman were killed in a Chevy
Suburban SUV crushed by a tractor trailer, the Texas Department of
Public Safety told KFDM-TV.
DPS trooper Stephanie Davis late Thursday identified the dead as Debra Leggio, 60, and Vincent Leggio, 64.
Jefferson
County sheriff's Deputy Rod Carroll said in a news release that 80 to
90 people were transported to hospitals with 10 to 12 of those in
serious to critical condition. He said 140 to 150 vehicles were involved
in the pileup.
According to DPS, a crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to
other accidents in a dangerous chain reaction. There were multiple
crashes on the other side of the highway as well.
Carroll told The
Associated Press the fog was so thick that deputies didn't immediately
realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.
"It is catastrophic," Carroll said. "I've got cars on top of cars."
I-10's eastbound lanes were re-opened Thursday evening after more than eight hours.
Davis told KFDM that two people in an SUV died after the crash.
Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help as authorities sorted through the wreckage.
"It's
just people helping people," Carroll said. "The foremost thing in this
holiday season is how other travelers were helping us when we were
overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were
injured."
Associated Press