Fort Worth firefighters are calling the incident on Interstate 35 a «mass casualty incident.»
By Tim Fitzsimons
A pileup involving 100 vehicles has killed at least five people, injured dozens more and brought traffic on a slippery Texas interstate to a halt, officials said Thursday.
Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Mike Drivdahl said authorities were going car-to-car to assess medical needs after the «mass casualty incident» involving dozens of tractor-trailers and other vehicles that shut down traffic in both directions on Interstate 35. The highway will be closed all day «to remove vehicles one by one,» he said.
Thirty-six people have been taken to hospitals with varying degrees of injuries, according to the spokesman.
The wrecks occurred as freezing rain and sleet overnight caused dangerous driving conditions during the height of the morning commute. Fort Worth is under a winter weather advisory through midday, according to the National Weather Service.
The Fort Worth Fire Department did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Please check back again for updates.
