On Saturday, October 28, 2023, 160 vehicles crashed along Louisiana’s I-55, and 7 people died in the process. At least 63 people were injured in the crashes and more than 25 were cleverly injured. The intense fire and extensive wreckage led troopers to believe there were a total of eight victims, but the ongoing investigation determined “there are no additional or unknown victims of this tragic incident other than seven identified victims. Meteorologists earlier said super fog had heavily impacted the area, just west of New Orleans, around the time of the pileups. Super fog is a thick fog that develops in damp, smoky conditions and can send visibilities plummeting to less than 10 feet. After the cleanup is complete, the northbound and southbound lanes of I-55 will remain closed until the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development conducts a damage assessment on a bridge at the crash site, state police said. Some of the vehicles caught on fire after the initial crash, authorities said. One of the vehicles involved in the wrecks was a tanker truck carrying “hazardous liquid,” police said without elaborating on the substance. Police were working Monday evening to move the truck due to a compromised tank/trailer. Authorities have asked the public to reach out if they have a missing family member who was traveling through the area Monday morning. Many are lucky enough to survive this event but others are still injured really badly and now many worry of driving safely in bad conditions and just aren’t.
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