6 killed in Texas pileup involving at least 133 vehicles

FORT WORTH, Texas (NewsNation Now) — Six people are dead and multiple people were trapped in vehicles after a pileup on a Texas freeway involving about 133 cars, officials said Thursday afternoon.

“The scene we saw today is one, really unlike one we have ever seen, and we pray to God we never see it again, ” described Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes.

“The vehicles are just mangled,” Matt Zavadsky, spokesman for MedStar, which provides the ambulance service for the area, said earlier Thursday. “Multiple tow trucks are on scene. It’s going to take a lot to disentangle this wreck.”

Thirty-six people were taken to hospitals from the crash, several with critical injuries, Zavadsky said. At least 65 people sought treatment at hospitals after the crash, officials said at a Thursday afternoon press conference. The crash happened just after 6 a.m. Thursday morning. No children were involved.

NEW: Thanks to the time of day that this accident took place, there were no children involved in the DFW pileup. @NewsNationNow

— Markie Martin (@MarkieMartin) February 11, 2021

Officials Thursday afternoon said they searched every car possible for anyone still trapped, and they believe everyone has been extricated.

Zavadsky said his crews carry a sand and salt mixture in the ambulances, which they began using at the scene. At one point, he said, one of the ambulances was hit, but it sustained only minor damage and the crew members were fine.

“The roadway was so treacherous from the ice that several of the first responders were falling on the scene,” Zavadsky said. Officials confirmed ice was a factor in the pileup.

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A reporter asked if the roadway had been treated prior to the accident.

“That is going to be part of the ongoing investigation,” Chief Noakes said. “It is my understanding that NTE TEXpress has released a statement that should be made available but we will definitely be getting more information out about that when we have that information as part of our investigation.”

Police set up a reunification center for family members at a community center.

Zavadsky said the number of people who sought medical care from hospitals after the crash is likely to continue to increase.

“This is an incident that our agencies train for, but hope and pray never happens,” Zavadsky said. “This was an unbelievable scene.”

“We have about 133 cars that were involved in the accident,” Chief Noakes said, noting that there may be more vehicles added to that total. He said four officers were injured, three that were en route to work and one injured while working the scene. All officers have been released from the hospital and none suffered serious injuries.

“And in the face of heartbreak just remember everyone involved in this from the patients to the victims, our first responders, the medical personnel, because it is incredibly hard on them working an accident like this,” said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price.

Agencies were still on the scene, which officials describe as a “very large geographic area,” as of Thursday afternoon.

Police previously issued a winter weather advisory for Tarrant County until Thursday at 3 p.m. The National Weather Service said light showers of freezing rain and sleet were expected throughout the morning.

Elsewhere, ice storm warnings were in effect from Arkansas to Kentucky, while another winter storm was predicted to bring snow to Mid-Atlantic states, the National Weather Service said.

Officials also asked for any witnesses with video of the scene that might help the investigation reach out to the Fort Worth Police non-emergency number: 817-392-4222