JANESVILLE, Wis. — Dozens of people were injured in an 85 car pile up on Friday while driving on I-39/90 between Janesville and Beloit, according to Wisconsin State Patrol.
The injuries are non-life-threatening, according to the agency.
Ken Bernier, owner of KB Towing and Recovery, was one of the many tow companies that responded to calls Friday evening.
“It looked like smokey and the bandits, I mean it was crazy, there were cars in the fence, cars burnt up, semis everywhere, it was like a big demolition derby just happened,” said Bernier.
Beloit Health System said they treated 27 patients from the accident.
Bernier said this is one of the worst accidents he has ever responded to and based on the videos he saw, he said it was lucky that no one died.
“He gets out of his car and just seconds after that his car is gone, just made it, if he would have been standing there,” said Bernier.
State Patrol said the incident occurred during a “severe winter weather event”, an event that caused a bigger pile up than Bernier has ever seen.
“Last year there was another one like that, there weren’t as many cars, probably half that many, but yeah,” said Bernier.
With more storms forecasted for the future, Bernier has a message for drivers planning to hit the snow and ice-covered roads.
“Slow down and give lots of distance, these semis can not stop on a dime and stay in your vehicles,” said Bernier.