Deadly fiery crash on I-40 near Williams involved 18 vehicles, DPS says
WILLIAMS, AZ (AZFamily) — A deadly crash that sparked a fire that burned for more than half a day involved nearly 20 vehicles on Interstate 40, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said on Friday. Investigators also said two people died, not three as they originally said.
The multi-vehicle crash happened on the westbound I-40 about four miles southwest of Williams on Thursday around 3:30 p.m. Troopers said the semi-truck driver had previously jackknifed and blocked the right side of the freeway.
Drivers were slowing down but some were not while merging to the left lane. That’s when another semi-truck driver jackknifed and hit multiple vehicles, while others were rear-ended and pushed into or underneath semi-trucks, DPS said. One of the semis caught fire and that spread to all the involved vehicles.
Because of the traffic, the severe winter storm and other incidents, it took a while for first responders to get to the scene. DPS said the fire burned for more than 12 hours, destroying all the vehicles.
The two people who died were passengers in separate vehicles. No names have been released. Investigators said the crash involved 13 cars, five semi-trucks and five unattached trailers. The exact sequence of the crash is still under investigation, troopers said.
I-40 is still closed in both directions. Williams is about 33 miles west of Flagstaff.
There was another crash involving semi-trucks about 20 miles east of the deadly crash. Crews with the Ponderosa Fire Department said they pulled one person to safety from one of the semi-trucks. The victim was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, officials said. For about 2 miles, I-40 is blocked due to the crash and slide-offs.
Interstate 40 is also partially closed near Kingman, Ash Fork and Winslow because of the winter storm, as well as other northern Arizona freeways.
The following highways are closed due to winter weather:
- Interstate 40 eastbound near Kingman and in Ash Fork (mileposts 71 & 146)
- Interstate 40 westbound between Williams and Holbrook (mileposts 158-289)
- Interstate 17 northbound at State Route 179 (milepost 299)
- State Route 89A in both directions between Sedona and I-17 (mileposts 375-394)
- State Route 87 southbound near Winslow (milepost 338)
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