(CBS) – Fog and low visibility was blamed for two massive pileups on Interstate 57 Thursday evening that injured motorists and snarled traffic in the south suburbs.
The line of cars parked on northbound I-57 waited patiently as emergency crews worked to clean up and piece together two crashes that led to pileups.
Motorist Joan Wallis was witness to the aftermath. She described cars stuck under semi-tractor-trailer trucks.
“The cars themselves were pretty much intact. It was just crushed front ends and things like that,” she told CBS 2’s Courtney Gousman.
Wallis, a nurse, says she was “delighted” no one appeared to be seriously injured.
Once police and fire arrived, Wallis continued southbound, and she encountered a second crash. This one involved a fiery tanker.
Illinois state police say dense fog was to blame for the crashes.
“You couldn’t see anything,” Wallis says.
