NTSB: Average speed before deadly Feb. 2021 pileup on I-35W exceeded 100 mph
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – On Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board released more than 800 pages of documents about their investigation into the deadly I-35W pileup.
This was a big story back in February of 2021 when about 130 vehicles were involved in a crash on I-35W southbound in Fort Worth.
Six people died and another 36 people were taken to hospitals.
Here are some key details that have emerged so far from the NTSB investigation.
As we've been going through the report, one section that caught our attention was the 22 pages of paperwork submitted by the North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners, who operate and maintain the segment of I-35W where the crash occurred.
In the report, their data indicates as the light freezing rain and mist started to fall, the average speed in one lane before the crash exceeded 100 miles per hour – that was the average.
So what has happened in the nearly two years since the crash?
The group says after the multi-vehicle crash, they've increased the fleet of winter maintenance vehicles from three to six dump trucks and 10 pick-ups are now outfitted to spray brine, that substance to help treat roads.
Before the pile-up, there were three.
Also, salt storage for the roads has increased by over 400 tons.
The NTSB has not released its final report about the crash and the cause. The report didn't indicate when that would happen.
Read the 800 page report here.
