A 70 car pile up that closed Interstate 4 for more than 12 hours yesterday, injured 37 and killed 4. The wreckage of semis, car, SUVs, and trucks stretched over two miles. The pile was made up of several collisions involving multiple vehicles.
The first crash was reported around 4:30 a.m. according to the Orlando Sentinel. Less than 24 hours prior, a controlled forest burn was being conducted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That fire became difficult to contain and by sundown had spread from a 10 acre control burn to a 500 acre unconfined fire. As firefighters we trying to control the fire, the Division of Forestry contacted the Florida Highway Patrol to inform them of their concern of heavy smoke and fog over I-4. It is this combination of smoke and early morning fog that limited visibility tremendously for drivers.
