Big Rig Crash Blocks Fort Worth Highway For Hours
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Traffic has started moving again along southbound Interstate-35W in Fort Worth after being shut down early Wednesday morning. A crash involving an 18-wheeler turned the highway into a parking lot for nearly four straight hours, through the morning rush hour.
The crash happened at around 6:00 a.m. when the big rig apparently barreled into a pickup truck, sending the smaller vehicle spinning into two other cars. The 18-wheeler and the pickup truck both became lodged on the center barricade, as the trailer and other wrecked vehicles covered every southbound lane.
One person was seriously injured in the crash.
Workers were forced to untangle the mess, leaving drivers at a standstill for several hours. There was no place for them to exit the highway or get around the crash, which took place in a construction zone. The backup included delivery truck drivers and commuters, all with places to go and no way of getting there.
Kerry Weth explained, "I've got to get to Galveston to ship my truck by 4:00 p.m. then I have to catch a flight back to Colorado Springs by 5:00 p.m." But now, the odds of that happening are "not too good."
The Texas Department of Transportation said that they try to keep as many exit ramps open as possible in construction zones, but there is always a risk that wrecks will block traffic while highway work is being done, as it did on Wednesday morning.