Posted: Oct 29, 2013 11:03 PM by Sean MooneyUpdated: Oct 30, 2013 12:03 AM
TUCSON - A lot of dust and high winds made for a deadly combination along Interstate 10, triggering a massive pileup near Picacho Peak on Tuesday. A huge dust cloud crossed I-10 just after noon between mile posts 214 and 216.The accident involved 19 vehicles, including six tractor trailers.Three people were killed and 12 were seriously hurt.
Eight of the 12 people injured in the pileup were taken to UAMC for treatment.
A UAMC spokesperson reported Tuesday night that of the eight people brought to the hospital, five were men and three were women. Two of the victims were in critical condition, one in serious condition. The remaining five were said to have non-life threatening injuries.
Truck driver, Henry Wallace, was driving one of the trucks involved in the pileup. Wallace described seeing a large dust cloud off the roadway and before he knew it the cloud was in front of him, 'It was just boom boom boom, quick I mean it was seconds not even minutes', Wallace said, 'the only thing I could see was one tractor trailer getting pushed in to me, I couldn't see because the sand was so thick, I jumped out of my truck and just took off running down the road.'
The 19 vehicles involved were strewn over a half mile section of I-10. The massive tractor trailers did the most damage with cars literally run over by the big rigs.
Christy Quevedo was caught up in the back up and says there are images of the crash scene she will never forget, 'When we were passing by and seeing the vehicles, I saw one of the vehicles, it was blue, I think it was an SUV and it looked like it was vertically on it's front end, with the wheels pointing out in the air. It wasn't sitting like a car normally does.
I-10 was closed in both directions for most of the day. All eastbound lanes were opened late Tuesday night as the cleanup continued.
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - Rating: 4.5
0 comments "Massive pileup near Picacho Peak kills 3, injured brought to UAMC"
Post a Comment