Two dead and 120 injured in pile-up of 150 vehicles

A high-speed pile-up of up to 150 vehicles on a fog-bound Texas interstate killed at least two people yesterday and injured up…

A high-speed pile-up of up to 150 vehicles on a fog-bound Texas interstate killed at least two people yesterday and injured up to 120, a sheriffs spokesman said.

The chain reaction of collisions shut down Interstate 10 about 25km (15 miles) west of Beaumont for several hours, said Deputy Rod Carroll of the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.

“We have 18-wheelers on top of cars, we have cars on top of cars. It’s just catastrophic,” he said, adding that rescuers were still looking for victims.

Two bodies were found underneath a tractor-trailer, he said. Eighty to 120 people had been taken to hospitals, and eight to 10 of them were seriously hurt, Deputy Carroll said.

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The initial accidents took place separately about 1.5km (a mile) apart on the east- and westbound sides of the interstate, he said.

The highway had been crowded with motorists travelling during the Thanksgiving holiday. Many of the vehicles were moving close to the posted speed of 110kp/h (70 mph) despite dense fog that limited visibility, Deputy Carroll said.

The westbound lane of the interstate has since been reopened, he said.