At least 8 killed, 63 injured in 168-vehicle pileup on Louisiana highway
The death toll rose to eight in a Louisiana highway pileup Monday morning that involved at least 168 vehicles, state police said on Tuesday.
The crash occurred on I-55 in St. John the Baptist Parish, just outside of New Orleans.
Police said 63 people were injured in the crash. More than 25 people were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from critical to minor, while an unspecified number of people also went to medical facilities on their own, police said on Monday. One vehicle went off the interstate and into the water, but the driver was safely rescued, police said.
"A portion of the crash scene caught on fire shortly after the initial incident. One tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid is being off-loaded due to a compromised tank/trailer," Lt. Melissa Matey of the Louisiana State Police said in a statement.
Matey said search crews may find more fatalities once the tanker is removed and they are able to access the vehicles near it.
Video from the scene posted on social media showed dense fog and dozens of damaged vehicles.
The low visibility was attributed to a so-called "super fog," a mixture of wildfire smoke and fog with visibility only as high as 10 feet, CBS affiliate WWL-TV reported.
Portions of I-55 reopened Tuesday afternoon, as tow trucks and emergency cleanup crews continued to remove wreckage from the crash site, according to WWL-TV.
"All vehicles have been removed from both sides of I-55, and DOTD has begun the clean-up of the roadway," police said on Tuesday evening, adding that bridge inspectors have also begun bridge repairs in multiple areas of the highway.