Video footage shows a deadly, 131-car pileup in Wisconsin that might be the largest crash in the state’s history.
The chain reaction crash took place on Feb. 24 on I-41 near Neenah amid whiteout conditions.
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office released footage showing in 30 seconds how visibility worsens drastically.
Other pictures and video showed mangled cars.
Watch for the change in visibility. pic.twitter.com/bKeJEPcRd9
— Winnebago County SO (@WCSO_Wisconsin) February 27, 2019
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
― Fred Rogers pic.twitter.com/wLZecxteJf
— Winnebago County SO (@WCSO_Wisconsin) February 26, 2019
Officials said that the crash ultimately killed one person and that 71 others were rushed to area hospitals with injuries.
Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz told reporters that the pileup was believed to be “the largest traffic crash in the state’s history,” reported Fox 47.
A deputy said it was the most complicated scene he’d ever seen, comparing it to a movie set.
Susan Brugger and Nicole Adrian were in one of the cars involved in the wreck. “We came around a corner, and it was just a total white wall of snow. You couldn’t see 5 feet in front of you,” said Adrian.
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to work on the investigation in regards to the massive I-41 SB chain…
Posted by Winnebago County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office on Monday, 25 February 2019
One person is dead and dozens of drivers are stranded. https://t.co/mzdVFihTJw
— Green Bay Press-Gaz. (@gbpressgazette) February 24, 2019
Brugger, who was driving, was able to pull to the side of the highway. Then, the car was hit.
“A semi jackknifed and probably sent us 50 feet, and everybody (was) kind of juggling around,” said Adrian. You could tell we were jacked up in the air, and there was a car that was underneath our rear end behind us.”
Officials finally freed them more than an hour later, using the Jaws of Life.
The sheriff’s office said that the “vast majority of the vehicles are a total loss and not driveable.”
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” 911 audio from a 131-vehicle crash: https://t.co/dh6FZKwHc7
— Mark Treinen (@MarkTreinen) February 26, 2019
I was in this horrific accident. https://t.co/1Sm7fBICI5
I am fine along with my friend Betsey who’s (totaled) suburban kept us safe. We are now safely in a hotel. Please say a prayer for the many injured and for the incredible EMS, Firefighters and First Responders.— Betsy Krebs McGuire (@betzkm) February 25, 2019
Just sorting out the information for each one, including documenting the damage and making sure the information regarding the drivers and any passengers was correct, was taking days, the sheriff said on Feb. 26.
Betsey Krebs McGuire, a Wisconsin Twitter user, said that she was in the crash with her friend, whose car was totaled.
“We are now safely in a hotel,” she said in a post on Feb. 24. “Please say a prayer for the many injured and for the incredible EMS, Firefighters and First Responders.”
