A massive series of pileups damaged 134 vehicles and injured 25 people on I-40 in North Carolina last night — and State Troopers say that rubbernecking was more to blame than the weather or speed.
Pileup Crashes Occurred In Eastbound Then Westbound Lanes
The chain reaction crashes occurred in both directions of a six mile stretch of I-40 between Mebane and Graham. The initial series of crashes involving about 25 vehicles happened in the eastbound lanes of I-40 near Jimmie Kerr Road overpass. As crews worked to clean up this crash, traffic slowed in the westbound lanes, causing more crashes.
Rubbernecking And Other Bad Driving Blamed For Pileup
North Carolina State Troopers blamed the pile up on a combination of wet weather, fog, driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, not paying attention to the road, and rubbernecking. Police even reported that some of the crashes were caused by drivers slowing down to take photos and video of other crashes.
It is unclear how many commercial vehicles, if any, were involved in the pileup.
Of the 25 people who were hurt, none of the injuries were considered to be life threatening.
I-40 reopens after 94-vechicle crash backs up traffic for hours https://t.co/CNALBhHomA #LiveOnWLOS pic.twitter.com/bnHHC3FDHi
— WLOS (@WLOS_13) March 14, 2016
Sources:
NBC 4i
News & Observer
WRAL