50-Car Pileup on I-4 Leaves Disney Employee, 3 Others Dead

[DisneyGuy2005]

I too give my thoughts and prayers for everyone that was involved in this tragedy.

 

[unkadug]

This is tragic...




My thought's and prayers go out to the families and everyone involved in this tragedy.

 

[Number_6]

First off, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those involved.

Now, my next rant and rave.

Why wasn't I-4 closed down, similar to I-10 when the fires occurred up in the panhandle. Yes, the I-10 incident were because of wild fires, and I-4's is because of a prescribed burn, however, I-4 being as busy and already dangerous as it is, should have been constantly monitored and closed down when it got this bad.

I am not trying to place blame, however, if I-10 can get closed down because of smoke from fires in Georgia, how come I-4 wasn't closed due to a fire (whether prescribed burn or not) within a mile of the interstate. :shrug: Unfortunately, lives were lost to this oversight by somebody.

Once again, may god rest there soul. And my thoughts and prayers go out to those involved!!!

According to the report, the smoke from the "controlled burn" and fog moved in really quickly and it went from decent visibility to zero visibility. It does actually take time to close down the roads and all the entrance ramps. Having worked in the Traffic Center and been involved with FHP's decisions to close down roadways, I know that even if you give the order to close the roads, you still have a chance of an accident occurring before you get everything shut down. The accident I mentioned in my previous post on The Beachline happened just as the order was being given to shut down the road because visibility was getting to a point that it would be dangerous to keep the road open. It moved in that quickly and there were still cars driving in the area that was being closed. Those vehicles went from having the ability to see nearby vehicles, to not having the ability to see even a foot in front of their vehicles. The only bad move here was even having the controlled burn just after a freeze when there would be even more dry stuff and a better chance of losing control of the burn, which is what happened.

 

[SpongeScott]

I understand everything you say, and realize that it takes time to shut down a major interstate. I was just curious to whether or not those orders were even given.


I know going home at 2:30a.m. on the turnpike from Orlando to South Florida between Christmas and New Years, the fog was bad to the point of where I didn't feel safe driving until after it subsided so I pulled over at a rest area and got a little shut-eye until morning.

There will be an investigation as to what happened. Everyone I saw being interviewed on the news about it had the typical "no comment" cliches going so as not to take or cast blame. I would imagine some heads will roll because although weather was involved, there seems to also be a lot of human error.

 

[mousebymarriage]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

 

[Hoop Raeb]

Road's still closed this morning. Sucked getting to work. They're repaving the road now since it was damaged in the fire.

 

[Number_6]

I understand everything you say, and realize that it takes time to shut down a major interstate. I was just curious to whether or not those orders were even given.


I know going home at 2:30a.m. on the turnpike from Orlando to South Florida between Christmas and New Years, the fog was bad to the point of where I didn't feel safe driving until after it subsided so I pulled over at a rest area and got a little shut-eye until morning.

Here's a quote from the article on CNN.com:

One of the first accident victims was a sheriff's deputy, Judd said. Deputy Jack Turner III told Judd that conditions on the road worsened suddenly.

"'It was clear, it was a little foggy, then it was total darkness,"' Polk Count Sheriff Judd recounted the deputy saying Wednesday morning.

Which seems to indicate that it happened too quickly for them to close the roads prior to the accident. They won't close roads because of a fire being within a mile of the Interstate unless it poses an actual threat to the drivers in the area. They also won't close it if there is just a bit of fog. But if conditions slowly get worse over time, they make sure to get Road Rangers or if it's I-95, VMS, out to prepare to assist with road closures. From the way things sound, this visibility went to heck so fast that the order to close the roads due to lack of visibility wouldn't have come in time to prevent the accident. That deputy who is mentioned as having told the Sheriff that conditions worsened suddenly was in one of the first accidents to occur as a result of the the conditions. His report would have been called in, the Sheriff's would have contacted FHP and FHP would have given the order to close the Interstate. By that point, the accidents would have been already happening.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Prayers for the families involved, Very sad indeed. Belle

 

[shoppingnut]

I don't recall where I read it, maybe cnn, but there was mention that the controlled burn got out of hand.

 

[wdwmomof3]

I don't recall where I read it, maybe cnn, but there was mention that the controlled burn got out of hand.

I saw it on tv too about the burn getting out of hand, and mixed with the fog it made matters worse. It's just so sad for everyone involved.

 

[SpongeScott]

Update on the CM who died. This is from the online version of the St. Pete Times.

Newlywed killed in 1-4 crash

A 35-year-old Polk County man has been identified as one of the dead in Wednesday's massive crash along 1-4, according to his relatives.
Darren Scott Snyder was on his way to work at Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom when his late model Red Ford Mustang was involved in the chain-reaction of crashes.
Shortly after hearing about the accident, Snyder's family, who also lives in Polk County, began calling him on his cell phone.
"He left here at 4:30 yesterday morning so we knew he'd be just about at that spot when the accident happened," said Don Ussery, Snyder's step-father-in-law.
His wife, Pam, called but Snyder didn't pick up, Ussery said.
Authorities have yet to confirm Snyder's identity. The family will have to wait until dental records are analyzed since Synder's body was charred during the crash. Authorities have yet to release the identities of those killed during the crash.
Snyder, a newlywed, was married six months ago in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
"The policeman who went up there said we'd have to wait on dental records to be 100 percent sure," Ussery said. "But we all know it's 100 percent him."

 

[dandaman]

That's so sad.

I just watched the aerial coverage of the flames mixed with the fog... so horrible...