NTSB Announces Investigation Of i-35 Mass Casualty Accident
According to The NTSB Newsroom on Twitter the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the multi vehicle casualty event that happened on February 11 on I-35 around 6:30 in the morning.
According to officials, the accident involved a total of 133 vehicles, and resulted in 65 people injured,35 of those needed treatment in the hospital, and six fatalities. In order to get enough traction for rescue, Forth Worth Fire Department had to bring their own salt and sand to access the scene.
The NTSB, in coordination with the North Tarrant Express & Texas Department of Transportation, is conducting a safety investigation of the fatal Feb. 11, 2021, multi-vehicle crash on I-35 near Fort Worth, TX. According to their tweet, the NTSB investigation will focus on snow/ice treatment procedures. NTSB Investigators will not travel to scene at this time.
TxDOT released the following statement about the accident:
Our thoughts are with the families of those involved in deadly crashes across the state in this tragic winter weather event TxDOT is committed to the safety of drivers. During all winter weather events, TxDOT undertakes proactive, advance measures such as pretreating its roads, which can help prevent ice from sticking to the roadway.
Conditions on roadways can change rapidly, and unfortunately, even with proactive measures the unpredictable and fast-changing severe Texas weather can still result in some ice accumulating.
As we have done since earlier this week, TxDOT will continue to inform drivers on weather and road conditions; encourage them to only travel when necessary; and drive to the conditions on the roadway.
Representative Ramon Romero has been asking questions about the accident: “My office is asking many questions and demanding answers. We have already had multiple discussions about this tollway’s bottleneck design and lack of commonsense safety measures such as a shoulder. Who was responsible for safety on this roadway? Who was responsible for deicing this portion of our highway? Who dropped the ball and why? Does TxDOT oversee safety measures on tollways or do we just trust private companies to handle it?”
