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Up to 50 Vehicles Involved in Deadly Pile-Up on I-4 (Florida)
ABC Action News ^
| Wednesday January 9, 2008
| Milwaukee_Guy
Posted on 01/09/2008 7:04:03 AM PST by Milwaukee_Guy
POLK COUNTY -- Smoke and fog formed a deadly combination this morning along Interstate 4 near Haines City. Near-zero visibility caused a massive, deadly pile-up involving at least 50 vehicles, many of them tractor-trailers. A number of vehicles caught fire.
Three people are reported dead and dozens injured. The accidents occured in the area of County Road 557.
I-4, the main traffic artery between Tampa and Orlando is now shut down in both directions between the Polk County Parkway (Hwy 570) and Highway 27 in Haines City. It will likely remain closed for much of the day.
TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: florida; i4; pile; up
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Very serious situation still unfolding. The fog has begun to lift and the scope of the accident is now becomming more clear.
Pictures to follow...
To: Milwaukee_Guy
2
posted on
01/09/2008 7:06:23 AM PST
by
thackney
(life is fragile, handle with prayer)
To: thackney
3
posted on
01/09/2008 7:07:38 AM PST
by
Guenevere
(Duncan Hunter...President '08)
To: thackney
4
posted on
01/09/2008 7:07:47 AM PST
by
Tanniker Smith
(wee fish ewe a mare egrets moose panda hippo gnu deer)
To: All
5
posted on
01/09/2008 7:09:13 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: Milwaukee_Guy
Prayers for all affected. If drivers would just slow down when conditions warrant and stop driving nose to tail at high rates of speed we wouldn’t have so many of these tragic events. Just in too big of a hurry. Sad.
6
posted on
01/09/2008 7:09:29 AM PST
by
OB1kNOb
(Support Duncan Hunter for the 2008 GOP presidential nominee. He is THE true conservative candidate.)
To: All
7
posted on
01/09/2008 7:10:53 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: Milwaukee_Guy
8
posted on
01/09/2008 7:10:58 AM PST
by
knittnmom
(...surrounded by reality!)
To: All
9
posted on
01/09/2008 7:13:25 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
10
posted on
01/09/2008 7:14:59 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
From the air, it looked like the dense mix of fog and smoke was hampering the four medical helicopters trying to land near the accident scene. The closest site appeared to be more than a mile east of the accident scene.
Fire and rescue crews from surrounding counties swarmed to the scene, including four firefighters and a battalion chief from Orange County Fire Rescue.
Osceola County Fire Rescue sent a division chief and battalion chief and a squad of firefighters operating four engines and four rescue vehicles. Lake County Fire Rescue has 20 firefighters and six emergency vehicles on the scene.
Robert Ellison was heading east on I-4 about 6 a.m. when he narrowly avoided a collision.
“Everything came to a halt,” he said. “You can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2008/jan/09/heavy-smoke-causing-problems-i-4-near-polk-city/
11
posted on
01/09/2008 7:18:59 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: Milwaukee_Guy
Surreal picture from earlier today.
12
posted on
01/09/2008 7:20:59 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
13
posted on
01/09/2008 7:22:41 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
14
posted on
01/09/2008 7:25:10 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
It took until about 9:00 am local time until helicopters and emergency vehicles could safely approach the scene. Police and EMS initially had to enter the scene on foot without their vehicles.
15
posted on
01/09/2008 7:29:47 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
16
posted on
01/09/2008 7:31:36 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: admin
This thread should be in the Front Page News sidebar if not on Breaking News...
17
posted on
01/09/2008 7:33:25 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
Still removing people trapped in cars. Accident occurred about five hours ago but the extreme fog severly hampered resue efforts.
18
posted on
01/09/2008 7:35:12 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
Emergency workers struggle to free one of the accident victims.
19
posted on
01/09/2008 7:37:36 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
To: All
Why do these stories get dumped into General/Chat?
Even local news here in WI was carrying this as breaking news...
20
posted on
01/09/2008 7:39:14 AM PST
by
Milwaukee_Guy
(Don't hit them between the eyes. Hit them right -in- the eyes!)
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