Foggy and icy cold highway in Virginia was shut down due to a massive 69 vehicle pileup. According to the state authorities, fifty one people are injured and two out of them are in critical but stable conditions.
Authorities said 69 vehicles were involved in chain-reaction crashes, which occurred shortly before 8 a.m. on the westbound lanes of Interstate 64 (I-64), near the Camp Peary exit. Police said 51 people were taken to the hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.
The images from the incident show the cars severely damaged, hoods crushed and with broken window panes. Cars are seen piled up and almost topping up.
Peter Glagola, a spokesman for the Riverside Health System, said two of its medical centres had taken in 45 injured persons on Sunday morning, including some with serious and moderate injuries. Some patients with minor injuries had already been sent home on Sunday afternoon, he said.
“It was a busy morning. We called more staff in and were able to take care of patients rapidly,” Glagola said. “Many have been discharged.”
It took several hours to clear away the damaged cars and reopen the road for the traffic. The crash made it difficult for the rescue team to reach out to the injured people to pull out from the crashed vehicles.
“My thoughts are with all involved in the multi-vehicle accident near Williamsburg this morning,” Gov. Ralph Northam (D) tweeted Sunday afternoon on social media and he also thanked emergency crews, first responders and to the hospital staff.
Both sides of I-64 were initially closed, but the eastbound lanes reopened around 11 a.m., authorities said. Travellers were urged to seek alternative routes and exercise cautions as some bridges were icy.
York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office asked the residents to use caution while driving due to fog and icy road conditions. As winter has started precautions are required, chains on tires are necessary for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Drivers need to look out for the safety precautions and keep a distance between vehicles and make sure that the threads on their tires are in good conditions to avoid the accidents and slips.
Weather acts through visibility impairments, precipitation, high winds, and temperature extremes to affect driver capabilities, vehicle performance (i.e., traction, stability and manoeuvrability), pavement friction, roadway infrastructure, crash risk, traffic flow, and agency productivity.
According to the U. S. Department of Transportation’s website “on average, there are over 5,891,000 vehicle crashes each year in the United States of America only. Approximately 21% of these crashes – nearly 1,235,000 – are weather-related.” Weather-related crashes are defined as those crashes that occur in adverse weather (i.e., rain, sleet, snow, fog, severe crosswinds, or blowing snow/sand/debris) or on slick pavement (i.e., wet pavement, snowy/slushy pavement, or icy pavement). On average, nearly 5,000 people are killed and over 418,000 people are injured in weather-related crashes each year. (Source: Ten-year averages from 2007 to 2016 analyzed by Booz Allen Hamilton, based on NHTSA data).
18% weather crashes occur during snow or sleet, 13% occur on icy pavement and 16% of weather-related crashes take place on snowy or slushy pavement and 3%% happen in the presence of fog. (Source: Ten-year averages from 2007 to 2016 analyzed by Booz Allen Hamilton, based on NHTSA data).
Every year weather takes a high toll on motorway crashes causing fatal injuries to human lives. Visibility is usually very poor during fog and it is quite difficult to take full control of the vehicle on thawed roadways. People need to maintain an appropriate amount of distance from another vehicle during these adverse weather conditions.
It is also advisable to follow speed limit instructions posted on the highways and roads and not to take any risks during being on the roads, freeways and highways, even during clockwise emergencies. It is extremely important to drive defensively and avoid any crashes. For big rigs and heavy vehicle drivers, U. S. Department of Transportation requires to take defensive driving classes, knowledge and education to protect the fatalities and to avoid the accidents, which can save government agencies expenditures, resources, human lives, infrastructure and individual’s properties.
