Six crashes involving more than 40 vehicles caused a massive pileup on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge in New Orleans on Tuesday.
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Foggy conditions were to blame, Fox 8 New Orleans reports, with visibility reduced to less than a tenth of a mile at times.
A Marine Dense Fog advisory was in effect in the morning, and the crashes began around 8:30 a.m. local time, ultimately shutting the bridge down in both directions for around seven hours. Some vehicles appeared to sustain fire damage.
Thirty-three people were hospitalized, according to St. Tammany Fire District #4. However, most injuries were minor and none were thought to be life-threatening.
“Fog probably was part of it,” said Carlton Dufrechou, general manager of the Causeway Bridge. “Some people not paying attention as much as they should have, more than likely.”
The Causeway Bridge spans Lake Ponchartrain from Mandeville in the north to Metairie in the south. It is the longest continuous span over water in the world, at over 23 miles long.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge was closed for more than seven hours after multiple crashes.
The bridge was finally able to reopen around 4:15 p.m., with a brief detour remaining on the northbound side.
St. Tammany Parish PIO Michael Vinsanau told Fox 8 that clearing the bridge, would be a “major undertaking.”
“Most of the wrecks were between the 10- and 18-mile markers,” he noted. “Getting the current vehicles that are on there that are not involved in a wreck off the bridge, but also the ones who they have to get tow trucks in. We’re taking two lanes across 25 miles. So this is not a light undertaking, this is going to take some time.”
Gary Cassard, a Fox 8 viewer who was stuck on the bridge around the 11.8 mile marker, described the scene as “chaotic.”
“It was a domino effect,” Cassard said. “The fog was so thick you couldn’t see a block ahead. I saw multiple cars, including an 18-wheeler, collide and heard what sounded like explosions behind me.”