Chain Reaction Crash Snarls Traffic On Highway 75
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MELISSA (CBSDFW.COM) - One of the biggest problem spots Friday was in Collin County. A pile up there, along Highway 75, snarled traffic for hours.
The crash happened just north of McKinney in the town of Melissa.
By 5 p.m. the southbound lanes of 75 were re-opened and fortunately drivers were taking it easy as they passed through the site where the chain reaction accident happened earlier.
The morning hours found debris scattered everywhere and more than a dozen vehicles stranded in the snowy mud.
Both sides of the southbound lanes were crowded with semi-trucks and smaller vehicles. What's amazing is that despite all the wreckage, police say only two people had to be taken to hospitals and their injuries were minor.
As for the rest of the drivers, several stood by with their vehicles waiting in shock for tow trucks to pull them out. The cleanup took hours.
Investigators are now working to figure out how the accident started.
Tom Thurmond was driving his semi-truck near the front of the group. He says he was in the left lane when a car came up on his side and crashed into him.
"All I know is I tried to hit my brakes and kinda slow down some more. I was thinking about going off that way," he said pointing. "I just went off this way."
Thurmond said the car was trying to pass him on the right side, which as a rule shouldn't be done even in dry weather. "It was just too snowy, too icy."
For the evening rush hour, the southbound lanes were moving faster than they had been all day.
But drivers were still being urged to use caution, because conditions would change quickly.
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