69 cars involved in crashes on I-10 Sat. night

"Involved" that is...

Multiple collisions involving 69 vehicles jammed westbound Interstate 10 on Saturday evening in downtown Phoenix.
Seven people were taken to area hospitals, two in serious condition. Phoenix Fire officials say they medically evaluated at least 40 people at the scene. ​

Photos from the wrecks
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials attributed the crashes to the thunderstorms that swept through the Phoenix area around 6 p.m.
"The rain came down hard and fast," said Sgt. Robert Bailey, a DPS spokesman.
One collision alone involved 35 vehicles and spanned over 2 ½ miles from 16th to 7th streets, according to Phoenix Fire officials.
Bailey said "dozens and dozens" of calls to 911 were received in a 15 minute span, starting around 6:15 p.m.
"This is all definitely weather related," he said. "It caught a lot of drivers by surprise."
Bailey compared the collisions to frequent dust storm crashes: "People are driving freeway speeds without slowing down. It's like a big chain reaction."
Still, many were surprised that there weren't more serious injuries on the stretch of freeway where the speed limit is 65 mph.
Phoenix Fire spokesman Captain Jonathan Jacobs said he suspects motorists had slowed down because of the rain. Phoenix fire had about 100 firefighters working the scene.
Multiple tow trucks hauled away disabled vehicles as a city bus drove up and down the closed section of the freeway, providing shelter and air conditioning to the victims, Jacobs said. About half of the vehicles involved could be driven away.
The crash investigation closed westbound I-10 ramp at 16th Street and 7th Street, along with the westbound I-10 ramps from Loop 202 and Arizona 51, officials said.
The freeway was reopened at about 10 p.m. Saturday.​

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/artic...shes-shut-Interstate-10-ON.html#ixzz0y1dFFCKn​

 

damn, people... slow the F@&% down!

 

Well as long as nobody got hurt to bad....that is wrecker drivers dream.

 

That might have been some of the problem too. Some people slowed down while others still drove fast. We have the same problem here in the winter. People think the speed limit is an all weather speed limit but they are not. Speed limits are designed for the best weather.

 

Job security for me.

 

Yep. Not much of that snow/ice here but we get lots of fog and our fair share of heavy rains. If I'm driving on the highway in that stuff I'm more worried about someone rear-ending me than I am about hitting someone else.

 

I was very glad to be heading east that night... Most Arizonans cannot handle driving in the rain.

 

Wow, glad there were no serious injuries but.... this is why all these dumbasses need to leave more than 2' distance between vehicles.

 

wow. good thing it doesnt snow in phx..