Massive Pileup on Foggy US Highway Leaves 2 Dead, Many More Injured
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A crash involving dozens of vehicles along a foggy stretch of California’s Interstate 5 in Southern California has left two people dead and nine others injured.
The pileup involving 35 cars happened about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 6 west of Bakersfield, according to authorities.
Kern County Fire Department spokesman Jim Calhoun told reporters that visibility was roughly 10 feet when crews arrived at the scene.
The crash, spread over about half a mile, involved 17 passenger vehicles and 18 big rigs.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and nine others were hospitalized with minor injuries, authorities said.
“It was pretty chaotic when I first pulled up at the scene,” Calhoun told KBAK-TV on Saturday.
“It was compressed natural gas, saddle tanks on the side of some the big rigs that were ruptured, so a lot of the bystanders that weren’t injured were trying to help people and were in a plume of natural gas so we had to deal with that first and get everyone evacuated from that area.”
The crash caught plenty of attention from social media users.
WARNING: The video below contains language some readers might object to.
Two dead, nine hospitalized after 35 vehicles pileup crash in Bakersfield Interstate in California
The accident involved a pileup of 35 vehicles, including 17 cars and 18 large trucks, with dense fog being the main cause according to officials in Bakersfield
Motorists are… pic.twitter.com/cygfLOWoGZ
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) January 6, 2024
Two dead in ‘chaotic’ 35-vehicle crash on California’s I-5 https://t.co/jDfK0Y44LF
— SFGATE (@SFGate) January 7, 2024
Some users put a political twist on the crash, comparing reaction to weather conditions with progressive calls for gun control.
Ban assault fog.
— Mark Springer 🏴 (@cavepersona) January 6, 2024
Time for some common sense vehicle control.
— Steven G Morgan (@TheGalilGod) January 7, 2024
The California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, said that southbound lanes would remain closed overnight while crews cleaned up debris and determined an official cause of the crash.
A message left with Caltrans by The Associated Press wasn’t immediately returned.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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