Yesterday was not a good day to travel to Baton Rouge from Lafayette. In fact it was an even worse day to travel the opposite way. For much of the morning hours Interstate 10, the main east/west artery across Louisiana was shut down due to a fiery seven vehicle crash. State Police investigating the accident scene said weather conditions had a lot to do with the incident.

According to reports shortly after 3 AM a motorist traveling west on I-10 stopped in the middle of the roadway because of heavy fog conditions. Sgt Nick Manale with with Louisiana State Police explained to the Louisiana Radio Network what happened next.

And at that point, an additional six 18-wheelers that were traveling behind her, traveling in a west bound direction, were involved in a chain reaction crash as they approached that stopped vehicle.

One truck carried sugar; another had soft drinks. A third was carrying whiskey, wine coolers and mixed drinks. A fourth was carrying rolls of paper. The two remaining trucks were carrying pallets and gravel and ended up in the eastbound lanes.One of the vehicles caught fire as a result of the crash and while there was significant damage to most of the vehicles involved there was some good news surround this crash.

Amazingly, only minor to moderate injuries.  The driver of the passenger vehicle and one of the 18-wheeler drivers were transported to local hospitals.

Many frustrated motorist who had to make the drive to Baton Rouge yesterday were forced to take I-49 north to Opelousas and then take U.S. Highway 190 East. Some callers reported the drive to Baton Rouge took in excess of three hours to complete because of the volume of traffic.

As far as charges in the accident are concerned none have been filed at this time.

It was a thick fog, low visibility area, but also the actions of that passenger vehicle, which we're still investigating the cause of that vehicle coming to a stop in the roadway, and then, of course, the chain reaction crash with the remaining 18-wheelers.

State Police and local law enforcement began to reopen parts of I-10 shortly after 8 AM yesterday. The roadway is open for travelers at this time with the exception of some intermittent lane closures for construction.

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