At least 63 people were injured in the crashes, the Louisiana State Police said in a news release Tuesday. More than 25 of those were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical, the agency said previously. And many victims sought medical help on their own.
“As the investigation into the multi-vehicle crash on I-55 progresses, Troopers and forensic examiners have made significant advancements. It has been determined that the incident tragically claimed the lives of seven victims rather than the initially reported eight victims,” Louisiana State Police said in a Facebook post Friday
The intense fire and extensive wreckage led troopers to believe there were a total of eight victims, but the ongoing investigation determined “there are no additional or unknown victims of this tragic incident other than seven identified victims,” state police said.
Meteorologists earlier said “super fog” had heavily impacted the area, just west of New Orleans, around the time of the pileups. Super fog is a thick fog that develops in damp, smoky conditions and can send visibilities plummeting to less than 10 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service warned dense fog could return to the area this weekend.
All vehicles have been cleared along I-55 and crews are beginning to clean debris, diesel, and other chemicals from the roadway’s surface, state police said.
After the cleanup is complete, the northbound and southbound lanes of I-55 will remain closed until the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development conducts a damage assessment on a bridge at the crash site, state police said.
Some of the vehicles caught on fire after the initial crash, authorities said. One of the vehicles involved in the wrecks was a tanker truck carrying “hazardous liquid,” police said without elaborating on the substance.
Police were working Monday evening to move the truck due to a “compromised tank/trailer.”
“Once the tanker is removed, first responders will be able to better assess the vehicles in that immediate area. It is possible that additional fatalities could be located,” state police added.
Authorities have asked the public to reach out if they have a missing family member who was traveling through the area Monday morning.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he was praying for those killed and wounded in the crashes.
