Looking back at deadly 100-car pileup on foggy interstate in 2008
Dense fog and slick pavement were to blame on Jan. 6, 2008, for a series of multi-vehicle crashes over five miles of Interstate 39-90 in the Madison area. While not the deadliest crash in state history, two people died in the 2008 incident that involved about 100 vehicles.
It was reminiscent of Wisconsin's deadliest crash on Oct. 11, 2002, when nearly 40 cars and trucks crashed on a foggy Interstate 43 in eastern Wisconsin, killing 10 people and injuring three dozen. In the 2008 pileup, some 50 people were taken to hospitals, and part of the interstate in both directions was closed for about eight hours.
Emergency vehicles, cars and people fill I-90 after multiple car accidents on the stretch of the interstate that passes by Monona and McFarland, on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. Authorities cited dense fog and speed as the reasons behind the crashes that killed two people and injured about 50 in less than two hours, according to Wisconsin State Journal reporting at the time.
A State Patrol officer speaks to people next to their vehicle that turned over in an accident on the westbound lane of I-90, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison. Multiple cars and trucks in different sections of I-90 East and West lanes collided due to dense fog.
A tire rests in the I-90 eastbound lane after a multi-car accident due to heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in the Madison area.
People stand around on I-90 in dense fog after multiple accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes shut down traffic, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison.
A car sits near a semi-truck after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison due to heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison.
Carrie Raymond suffered a mild concussion and was carried off to an ambulance after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison during dense fog on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
Emergency personnel assist someone after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison stemming from dense fog Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
A State Patrol officer walks off of the Madison city bus that was provided for people after dense fog led to multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison due to dense fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
Rescue workers help a woman hurt in a multiple-car accident on I-90 in the westbound lane that occurred during dense fog Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in the Madison area.
A firefighter walks down eastbound I-90 after multiple car accidents on both sides of the interstate in the Madison area amid heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
A man talks on a cell phone as another looks at damage on a car after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison amid a day of heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
State Trooper L.C. Block holds the hands of Carter Raymond, right, and his cousin Kyle Czarnik alongside Kyle's mother, Andrea Thorngren, as they walk away from the scene of multiple car accidents on I-90 near Madison on Jan. 6, 2008.
A State Patrol officer walks past a semi-truck involved in a multiple-car accident due on a highly foggy day on eastbound I-90 near Madison, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.Â
State Patrol officers survey the damage on a vehicle after speed and heavy fog caused multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
R.J. Callaway helps people onto a Madison city bus to get out of the cold after multiple car accidents on I-90 near Madison during a day of heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
A firefighter walks down eastbound I-90 after multiple car accidents on both sides of the interstate in the Madison area amid heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
A man talks on a cell phone as another looks at damage on a car after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison amid a day of heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
State Trooper L.C. Block holds the hands of Carter Raymond, right, and his cousin Kyle Czarnik alongside Kyle's mother, Andrea Thorngren, as they walk away from the scene of multiple car accidents on I-90 near Madison on Jan. 6, 2008.
A State Patrol officer walks past a semi-truck involved in a multiple-car accident due on a highly foggy day on eastbound I-90 near Madison, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.Â
State Patrol officers survey the damage on a vehicle after speed and heavy fog caused multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
R.J. Callaway helps people onto a Madison city bus to get out of the cold after multiple car accidents on I-90 near Madison during a day of heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
Emergency vehicles, cars and people fill I-90 after multiple car accidents on the stretch of the interstate that passes by Monona and McFarland, on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008. Authorities cited dense fog and speed as the reasons behind the crashes that killed two people and injured about 50 in less than two hours, according to Wisconsin State Journal reporting at the time.
A State Patrol officer speaks to people next to their vehicle that turned over in an accident on the westbound lane of I-90, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison. Multiple cars and trucks in different sections of I-90 East and West lanes collided due to dense fog.
A tire rests in the I-90 eastbound lane after a multi-car accident due to heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in the Madison area.
People stand around on I-90 in dense fog after multiple accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes shut down traffic, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison.
A car sits near a semi-truck after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes near Madison due to heavy fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in Madison.
Carrie Raymond suffered a mild concussion and was carried off to an ambulance after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison during dense fog on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
Emergency personnel assist someone after multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison stemming from dense fog Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
A State Patrol officer walks off of the Madison city bus that was provided for people after dense fog led to multiple car accidents on I-90 east- and westbound lanes in Madison due to dense fog, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.
Rescue workers help a woman hurt in a multiple-car accident on I-90 in the westbound lane that occurred during dense fog Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, in the Madison area.
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