Massive pileup closes Calif. highway

RESNO, Calif. - Collisions on a foggy freeway Saturday resulted in a pileup of as many as 100 vehicles and the deaths of at least two people, the California Highway Patrol said.

The collisions included nine big rigs on northbound Highway 99 just south of Fresno, CHP Officer Scott Jobinger said.

"It looks like we had a chain reaction crash in that fog," Jobinger said.

Rescuers extracted several people whose vehicles were pinned under tractor trailers, he said.

Paramedics transported more than three dozen people with injuries to the hospital, Fresno City Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.

Wrecked vehicles were scattered for at least two miles along the freeway as crews worked to clear the wreckage, he said.

Authorities said no hazardous materials appeared to have been spilled in the morning crash.

That section of the freeway will remain shut down as investigators look into the cause of the crash, Jobinger said. The southbound lanes remained opened.

This from MSNBC.

FRESNO, Calif. - At least two people were killed in a massive multi-vehicle pileup on a foggy freeway just south of the city Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.

Up to 100 vehicles, including nine big rigs, were involved in the collision on Northbound Highway 99 as patches of dense fog obscured visibility on the heavily traveled roadway, CHP Officer Scott Jobinger said.

“It looks like we had a chain reaction crash in that fog,” Jobinger said.

Rescuers had to extract several people trapped in the wreckage, and paramedics transported more than three dozen patients to the hospital with injuries, Fresno City Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.

Three hours after the 7:45 a.m. crash, the freeway was “literally a parking lot” as traffic backed up for several miles on Northbound Highway 99 south of Fresno, Shockley said.

Wrecked vehicles were scattered for at least two miles along the freeway as crews worked to clear the wreckage, he said.

Authorities said no hazardous materials were spilled.

The freeway’s northbound lanes around Clovis Avenue were shut down indefinitely as investigators worked to determine the cause of the crash, Jobinger said. The southbound lanes remained opened.

In the late morning, tractor trailers carrying building materials, live chickens and other cargo were still sitting jacknifed on the stretch of freeway where the accident occurred.