Five people die from pileups on foggy Missouri interstate

CHARLESTON, Mo. (AP) — Five people died in a series of fiery chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles on a fog-covered interstate in southeast Missouri, officials said.

The Mississippi County coroner initially said a sixth person died in the collisions on March 17 but a final report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol said five people lost their lives on Interstate 57.

The collisions began about 8 a.m. March 17 as thick fog enveloped the Charleston area, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) south of St. Louis. The first pileup started in the southbound lanes, “then migrated to the northbound lanes,” Kinder said, snaring 47 vehicles — including several semitrailers — in the wreckage.

“It was a horrific scene,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Kinder said. “The wreckage area itself was a half-a-mile long.”

The interstate was closed for about 25 miles (40 kilometers) in both directions in Mississippi County from the Missouri-Illinois border to Sikeston, Missouri. The interstate reopened about 4:30 a.m. Friday, Kinder said.

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This story was first published on March 18, 2022. It was updated on March 23, 2022, to correct the number of people who died to five, instead of six.