A Foggy, Deadly Scene: 2 Killed, Dozens Injured As Vehicles Pile Up Near Madison

Jan 07, 02:07 AM

Jan. 7--MADISON -- A freeway shrouded in fog became a chaotic scene of twisted metal, wounded bodies and scurrying emergency crews Sunday afternoon after two big pileups on I-90/39 involving dozens of vehicles killed two people and injured dozens more.

At least 50 people were injured, including three with life-threatening injuries, and taken to hospitals in Stoughton and Madison, authorities said during a news conference. Hospitals reported independently that they had admitted as many as 47 people from the crash scene and were expecting to treat more.

Authorities did not release the names or hometowns of the victims.

Jim Kriecha, 58, of St. Charles, Ill., said he pulled off the highway after 2 p.m. because people were slamming on their brakes in the heavy fog. Traffic had been going about 60 mph prior to the accidents, he said.

"People didn't slow down and just started to slam into everything," said Kriecha, vice president of a steel company.

Within minutes, squad cars, ambulances and fire engines rushed to the scene and discovered a five-mile swath of smashed cars and jackknifed semitrailer trucks. At least two dozen emergency vehicles and 75 to 100 rescue workers were on scene, officials said.

Witnesses reported shattered glass and pieces of automobiles all over the highway, and demolished cars lining the ditches.

Seven seriously injured motorists were taken to University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison and more were expected, a spokesman said.

Meriter Hospital was treating 12 crash victims and was expecting eight more, and St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center in Madison reported treating 20 patients, all with minor injuries.

So far, state troopers know this:

About 2:25 p.m., thick fog caused heavy braking in the southbound lanes of I-90/39, just south of Highway 12-18. A semi came through the area and "plowed through quite a few vehicles," said Wisconsin State Patrol Lt. Lauri Steeber. One person was killed in that accident, she said.

Fifteen to 30 minutes later, a mile north of Highway N in the northbound lanes, another traffic pileup occurred and another person was killed in the wreck, Steeber said. Several other multiple-vehicle crashes happened in between the two major pileups, the State Patrol said.

Most of the accidents appeared to be caused by people driving too fast for conditions or following too closely, Steeber said. When the fog got thick, drivers slammed on their brakes and other drivers plowed into them, causing a chain reaction of accidents, she said.

"One of my sergeants described it at as a war scene," Steeber said.

Steeber said accident reconstruction experts will investigate and piece together a sequence of events.

"If there are violations, of course, people will be charged," she said.

At least 100 vehicles were involved in the swath of accidents, authorities said.

Jay Salvo, assistant fire chief for Blooming Grove Fire Department, was one of the first to respond to the accident south of Highway 12-18. He said the fog was so thick that he couldn't see an ambulance with its lights flashing from 150 feet away.

The fog, which limited visibility in the Madison area to less than a 10th of a mile at times, formed as warm southerly air swept over snow-packed ground, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Sullivan.

"It was very soupy stuff, very poor visibilities," Franks said of the fog.

Fog thickened

A driver involved in the crash, Erik Kispert, 23, of Valparaiso, Ind., said he was returning to the University of Indianapolis after a weekend of snowboarding near Rib Mountain and was going 65 to 70 mph on the interstate when the fog thickened.

"By the time we saw brake lights it was too late," said Kispert, who was traveling with his 21-year-old girlfriend, Lizet Zuniga, and 16-year-old brother, Isak. "We couldn't see 50 feet in front of us."

About three seconds later, Kispert said, they were struck from behind by another vehicle. They got out of their car, and as Kispert returned a few minutes later to get his girlfriend's insulin, he noticed the 1999 Honda Civic they were in had caught fire. Isak got 20 stitches in his head, and Zuniga received medication for minor back pain.

"Everyone who helped us at the scene was just amazing. They were there so quickly and they were so well-organized," Isak Kispert said.

As many as 100 people involved in the accidents were bused to the Wingate Hotel, just east of the crash scenes, so they could use the bathroom, warm up and tend to their children, family or friends, said a spokesman for the Badger chapter of the American Red Cross.

Ed Werner, a software engineer who lives in Madison, said conditions were clear in Janesville on Sunday as he returned from a visit with family. He slowed to 25 mph as the fog got worse and he saw people stopped next to the interstate.

He also saw accidents that already happened, including a Chevrolet Trailblazer resting on top of a Ford Mustang.

"I think people were going a little too fast," Werner said. "As the fog got worse, people kept passing us."

Sharon Hatch of Lodi said she also was returning from Janesville, where her daughter had a basketball tournament, when she slowed for the chain of accidents on the interstate. She saw one accident that involved 20 cars, and another where two trucks had collided with two cars crushed between them.

Hatch said there were accidents in front and behind them, but she and her son and daughter were unharmed. They later boarded a charter bus that took them to the hotel.

"It was fascinating, yet scary," said her 12-year-old son, Jon.

Byron Robertson, 41, of Mount Horeb also was lucky enough to pull over and avoid getting crushed.

"The only thing I remember saying is 'Oh my God,' and slamming on the brakes," he said.

Kriecha said he and his wife were returning from their cabin in Arkdale. They had left early because of the weather.

When they came to a stop because of the wreckage in front of them, they held on for dear life.

"They just kept plowing into us," Kriecha said as their car was hit from behind, on the side and in the front. "We thought we'd take our time and look what happens."

Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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