Five of the six victims of the massive disaster on a north Texas highway were identified Friday, when the frigid rain contributing to the disaster fell across the South and Mid Atlantic Ocean, cutting weekend travel and commuting to work. Monday were endangered.
The Tarrant County medical examiner identified four of the five victims as being from Texas: Tiffany Louann Gerred, 34, from Northlake; Aaron Luke Watson, 45, of Fort Worth; Christopher Ray Vardy, 49, from Boyd; and Michael Henry Wells, 47, from Justin. The fifth, William Darrell Williams, 54, was from Pahoa, Hawaii.
The exact cause of Thursday’s 135-car pileup on Interstate 35 in Fort Worth was still under investigation.
Monday morning, commuters as far south and west as Houston – stretching north and east toward Shreveport, Louisiana, Nashville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and New York – could face similar conditions that led to Thursday’s accident. in Fort Worth, according to predictions.
On weekends, freezing rain could lead to dangerous driving in Richmond, Virginia, Washington, DC and Baltimore, although slightly higher temperatures and lighter Monday morning precipitation could help ease conditions in some of these cities.
Transportation officials in those regions hope to avoid a repeat of Thursday’s congestion in Fort Worth, where tractor-trailer trucks rolled cars in panic.
“It was really freezing out there, (I) slid about 100 feet or so, then hit the wall. A few semifinals just came and plowed through a lot of people, ”motorist Blake Diebel told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. “Feel happy and my head hurts, so we’re going to have it checked.”
Diebel’s parents rushed from Denton to the crime scene after learning about the chain reaction, and his mother, Joni Diebel, threw the median strip to hug her son.
“The worst, helpless feeling ever,” said Joni Diebel just before the emotional reunion on the highway. “When he left this morning I had a bad feeling. I don’t know why.”
Shamar Walters and Bianca Britton contributed.