Mass Causalities On Interstate 57 In Missouri!

Interstate 57 was the site of a horrible wreck.

A stretch of rural Missouri is the site of a massive pile up on Interstate 57. On Friday, they finally opened up the road. But six people lost their lives on this stretch of highway.

Interstate 57 is a 387 mile freeway that starts from Sikeston, Missouri and ends at Chicago. It is supposed to be a bypass from St. Louis. It is a quicker way to Memphis.

It is proposed that Interstate 57 will travel south towards North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Emergency crews from Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky had to be dispatched to this horrific tragedy. 

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Karen Parson, Gov. Andy Beshear and J.B. Pritzker were informed of the tragedy.

A 47-car pileup on Interstate 57 in southeastern Missouri left six people dead and closed the highway in both directions Thursday.

Photos from the scene show several tractor-trailers scattered along I-57, both on the road and in the median of the highway. The contents of the trucks -- some pink material, others white -- are also seen strewn on the road as crews surround the area.

"I've never seen a crash like this," Sgt. Jeff Kinder said in an interview with CNN affiliate KFVS-TV. "The expanse of the crash, it took up about a half-mile of the interstate."

Mississippi County Coroner Terry Parker told CNN the names of the victims have not been released.

For truckers/thru motorists from outside the area:
A detour on US 60/62 is only way in immediate area to cross Mississippi River. Other river crossings:
• I-255, I-64, I-70, I-270 in St. Louis
• MO Route 74 in Cape Girardeau
• I-155 in Caruthersville
• I-55 in Memphis, TN

— MO Public Safety (@MoPublicSafety) March 17, 2022

"We're going through the identification process, and then notification of families," Parker said.

A pileup on Interstate 57 in Missouri left six people dead on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

I-57 is closed in both directions from Interstate 55 to the Illinois state line, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"Both directions are closed and there is a large-scale cleanup underway as well as continuing major-crash fatality scene investigation," the Missouri Department of Public Safety tweeted.

The coroner said they do not expect the number of fatalities to grow. "The recovery stage is over," according to Parker.

Kinder says the investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing, but it is believed that foggy conditions contributed to the crash.

The crashes happened near the city of Charleston, near the state's border with Missouri along the Mississippi River.