Murky fog eliminated visibility and led to 13 people getting hurt, two seriously, during a 43-car pile-up on Maryland’s Bay Bridge.
Around 8am Saturday, 23 vehicles were involved in a ‘chain-reaction crash’ on the westbound span of the bridge, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.
The crash triggered a series of ‘secondary crashes’ involving around 20 other vehicles. Thirteen people were transported to local hospitals, including two with serious injuries.
While it is unclear what prompted the initial crash, there was a dense fog advisory in place for areas east of the bridge. A video submitted to WUSA 9 shows blurry taillights through a haze of gray fog.
‘I was very nervous, I said to my grandson this is very dangerous you can’t even see in front of you… and that’s why I went slow,’ Ruth Hayes told the outlet.
Thirteen people were taken to the hospital following a 43-car crash on Maryland’s Bay Bridge
Around 8am Saturday, 23 vehicles were involved in a ‘chain-reaction crash’ that prompted a series of ‘secondary crashes’ involving an additional 20
The east and westbound lanes remained closed for five hours as emergency crews tended to the injured and removed smashed vehicles from the bridge
The woman recorded the dismal conditions from inside her vehicle, keeping extra space between herself and other drivers. All of a sudden, she felt her car shake.
‘I was hit and then all you could hear is all this crunching of cars because there was a pileup behind us too,’ Hayes said.
Only after she and her grandson stepped outside did they realize the extent of the crash. Grandson Landen Cahill described the scene as ‘graphic.’
‘It was pretty bad,’ Cahill said, noting that he spotted airbags with blood on them.
Aerial footage shows emergency crews in fluorescent vests tending to the scene, walking among shattered glass as some vehicles are loaded onto flatbeds.
As rescuers could not drive onto the bridge, Hayes said, they paced up and down with gurneys to carry the injured away.
She and her grandson were among the hundreds of drivers who waited five hours for the east and westbound lanes to reopen. Luckily, they made it out only shaken.
‘I’m happy to be alive,’ Cahill said.
At around 2pm, the MDTA announced that all lanes had reopened.
One witness described the scene as ‘graphic,’ adding that he saw bloodied airbags
Police continue to investigate the cause of the initial crash, but drivers suspect dense fog may have played a role
Another witness said emergency crews loaded victims into gurneys and carried them on foot down the bridge as traffic was dead stop
Hundreds of motorists waited hours for the bridge to reopen. Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries, but none were life-threatening
The Maryland Transportation Authority announced that all lanes had been reopened at 2pm
Police continue to investigate the moments leading up to the crash and request assistance from the public.
For many drivers, the culprit is obvious. ‘This fog’s so dense, people don’t pay attention, and that causes a lot of these problems,’ motorist Jamie Myrick told WBAL-TV.
The National Weather Service urges drivers to reduce speed in low-visibility conditions.
Motorists should turn on their low-beam headlights to make themselves visible to others and use fog lights if possible.
Never use high-beam lights, the agency says, as this causes glare.