At least five people were killed when 70 to 100 vehicles were involved in an ice-related wreck Thursday on Interstate 35 West in Fort Worth, Texas.
“The incident shuttered both northbound and southbound traffic on I-35 near Northside Drive, north of downtown,” Fox 4 reported.
Officials said there were numerous injuries because of the collisions and first responders checked on people in all of the vehicles involved, adding that there were multiple 18-wheelers among the vehicles in the wreck.
The interstate is expected to remain shut down for several hours.
The pileup occurred around 6:30 a.m. after freezing rain and sleet left roadways across the area wet and slick, according to CBS DFW:
Officials say I-35W is backed up in both directions. First responders are calling the crash a ‘mass casualty incident’. rescuers did and are having are difficulty reaching some victims because of the literal pileup and the blocked roadway.
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Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Officials with MedStar Mobile Healthcare confirm 14 ambulances were used to transport some 36 people to area hospitals. The seriously injured were transported to trauma centers.
KETK anchor Cynthia McLaughlin tweeted video footage of the moment the initial crash took place:
The footage appeared to show a FedEx truck ram into the back of several cars, causing those behind it to swerve out of the way.
WFAA reporter Eric Alvarez tweeted photos of the scene:
Reporter Chris Sadeghi also shared photos of the pileup:
The Fort Worth Police Department is asking those involved in the wreck who received minor damage to their vehicle and are not injured to exchange information and make their way off the interstate:
In a tweet just after 9:00 a.m., the department said, “There is a family reunification location for families to pick up & meet drivers/passengers involved in the pileup on I-35. The address for families to pick up their loved ones is….3700 E. Belknap (Riverside Center).”