Two people were killed and traffic came to a standstill along a Louisiana stretch of interstate on Monday due to poor visibility that meteorologists are blaming on fog.
On Monday morning, I-55 between Baton Rouge and New Orleans was the scene of multiple car crashes, some of which resulted in fires.
Horrible situation on I-55 with multiple vehicles on fire, at least one death and emergency responders on the scene. I-10 closed in both directions at the Bonne Carre Spillway to enable first responders to get to the scene. pic.twitter.com/buppTR292l
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) October 23, 2023
WWL-TV reported two people were killed in separate crashes while it remains unclear how many people were injured.
The situation on the interstate was described as “utter gridlock.”
Two dead, I-55 closed in both directions after multiple wrecks, vehicle fire
📷: Lance Scott pic.twitter.com/JJbDTxr7o5
— WWL-TV (@WWLTV) October 23, 2023
One person was rescued from a waterway after their vehicle careened off a bridge. New Orleans-area school buses were also running as much as an hour behind schedule to start the school week.
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The National Weather Service in New Orleans attributed the poor visibility to a phenomenon called “super fog.”
“Dense fog & smoke have combined to form what is known as Superfog (yes, it is the technical name) & this is still heavily impacting I-55 between Ponchatoula & LaPlace,” the service said. “The interstate was still closed according to @La_DOTD due to multiple accidents. Fog is slowly improving.”
Dense fog & smoke have combined to form what is known as Superfog (yes, it is the technical name) & this is still heavily impacting I-55 between Ponchatoula & LaPlace. The interstate was still closed according to @La_DOTD due to multiple accidents. Fog is slowly improving. pic.twitter.com/xwovJBbuco
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) October 23, 2023
The National Weather Service says super fog is created when a “mixture of smoke and moisture [is] released from damp smoldering organic material such as brush, leaves and trees” and then mixes with “cooler, nearly saturated air.”
“Visibility is lowered to less than 10 feet,” the NWS added. “Under light wind conditions, super fog meanders through low terrain areas such as creek beds or drainage ditches. Super fog can be very dangerous when present over highways, and has been the cause of several large, multi-vehicle pileups.”
Multiple images and videos from Monday’s wrecks were shared on X (formerly Twitter) and showed the scope of the chaos.
RAW VIDEO: Scene of multiple crashes and fires on I-55 northbound near the Manchac exit>>https://t.co/p2ctyyrKaS pic.twitter.com/eYJIPb7bw9
— FOX 8 New Orleans (@FOX8NOLA) October 23, 2023
We are seeing aftermath video of the fiery crash on I-55 between Ruddock and Manchac.
Video Courtesy: Carolyn Millerhttps://t.co/3oTobtgpVn pic.twitter.com/eZUOw4FOBc
— wdsu (@wdsu) October 23, 2023
Dozens of cars were reportedly involved in a fiery pile-up on I-55 Monday morning. Photos and videos from the scene showed trucks on top of other trucks. There was no immediate word on injuries. More details here: https://t.co/fQf7CYMO2m pic.twitter.com/AhGzLndAS9
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) October 23, 2023
According to police, it was unclear as of Monday afternoon how many vehicles were damaged in multiple chain reaction accidents along the highway.
“We don’t know right now how many crashes were involved or how many vehicles were involved,” a Louisiana State Police representative told WWL-TV.
Officers from multiple agencies responded to help sort out the mayhem and to get traffic moving again.
Not only did the accidents shut down I-55 west of Lake Pontchartrain, but also I-10 which connects New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
People in the area were asked by WWL-TV meteorologist Alexa Trischler to prepare for similar issues on Tuesday morning.
