Dallas — Company responsible for maintaining interstate highways in Texas. 130 vehicles collide in frozen conditions Two years ago, six people were killed and dozens injured but failed to cope with deteriorating road conditions, federal officials said Thursday.
On the morning of the February 11, 2021 crash, that portion of Interstate 35 west of Fort Worth was not treated with salt. National Transportation Safety Board Said.of NTSB North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3 said the failure to handle the situation and the driver’s speed contributed to the crash.
North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3 had pre-treated the southbound lanes of I-35W with a liquid brine solution two days earlier due to the forecast for freezing rain and sleet, according to the NTSB. However, according to the NTSB, the crew who checked the road about 45 minutes before the crash did not realize that the elevated section of the interstate where the crash occurred required additional deicing. .
A spokeswoman for North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The Texas Department of Transportation also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly after 6am, a pile of cars, trucks and semi-trailers began to pile up on the southbound toll lane with a 75 mph (120 km/h) speed limit. A concrete barrier separated the southbound toll lane from the northbound toll lane and the southbound general use lane.
The NTSB said the collision began when the vehicle hit a concrete barrier on the right side of the toll lane. Other vehicles then began to slide, spin, and collided with barriers. A large truck then hit some of those vehicles, and others that could not stop were also part of the larger crash, blocking all southbound toll lanes.
Two of the dead were shot, according to the NTSB. After getting out of their car.
Prior to the crash, the area experienced 36 consecutive hours of freezing temperatures. According to the NTSB, the crew spot treated a section of the interstate with salt the morning of the crash, but not the section where the accident occurred. According to the agency, a crew member visually checked the road 45 minutes before the accident and found no moisture and no salt spray.
However, according to the NTSB, it had rained in the hours before the crash, with reports of light fog and fog, and a sign along the southbound toll lane managed by the North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners segment displayed the following message: I was. Note. “
Local officials said the road was icy and very dangerous at the time, and several first responders who responded to the crash fell when they tried to help.
Recommendations from the NTSB include installing variable speed limit signs, adding sensors to reduce response time to dangerous road conditions, and providing training on how to better respond to winter weather conditions. .
Three days after the crash, Texas bent power grid When another winter storm dropped temperatures below freezing for several days. Millions of people were left without electricity for days and hundreds of lives were lost.
