In Tennessee, police responded to about 30 traffic collisions and some flights were delayed at Memphis International Airport after freezing rain and sleet fell. "As a result we're getting unusually or unseasonably cold air that's spilling south across a good portion of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains," he said. The ice storm came as a polar vortex - swirling air that normally sits over the Earth's poles - has moved near the U.S.-Canada border, resulting in colder weather farther south than usual, said Steve Goss, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. At one point, he said, one of the ambulances was hit, but it sustained only minor damage and the crew members were fine. Zavadsky said his crews carry a sand and salt mixture in the ambulances, which they used at the scene. "The roadway was so treacherous from the ice that several of the first responders were falling on the scene," Zavadsky said. He said all have been released from the hospital and that none of them suffered serious injuries. "We did see a large number of people that were victims of this accident that were in scrubs, that had hospital IDs on in some cases, our folks would know those folks," Zavadsky said.įort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said three officers were en route to work when they were injured in the crash, and one officer was injured while working the scene. The crash happened about 6 a.m., as many hospital and emergency workers were heading to and from work, so some of those involved were health care workers and emergency responders, including police officers, officials said. Numerous others were treated at the scene and released, he said. "There were multiple people that were trapped within the confines of their vehicles and requiring the use of hydraulic rescue equipment to successfully extricate them," said Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis.Īt least 65 people were treated at hospitals, with 36 of them taken by ambulance from the crash site, including three with critical injuries, said Matt Zavadsky, spokesman for MedStar, which provides the ambulance service for the area. “If this is true, regardless if it is the responsibility of a private entity to treat the North Tarrant Express, it is wholly unacceptable, and I’m calling on the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety to conduct a complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding Thursday morning’s traffic disaster and to support the ongoing investigations of the NTSB,” Canales said.Īt the scene of the crash on Interstate 35 near downtown Fort Worth, a tangle of semitrailers, cars and trucks had smashed into each other and had turned every which way, with some vehicles on top of others. “I have spoken to state legislators from the region, and they expressed concerns that this roadway may not have been sufficiently pre-treated for icy weather prior to the event,” Canales continued. “My heart goes out to the individuals and families impacted by the horrific vehicle pileup in Fort Worth on Thursday morning,” said Canales. The massive crash left six people dead and dozens injured amid a winter storm that dropped freezing rain, sleet and snow on parts of the U.S.Ĭhairman Terry Canales of the Texas House Committee on Transportation is calling on the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the crash.
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