Louisiana 'Superfog' Video Shows Aftermath of Deadly Highway Pileup

Video footage from the aftermath of an estimated 158-vehicle pileup on Interstate 55 outside New Orleans, Louisiana, due to an intense "superfog" on Monday morning, shows the scale of the destruction on the highway.

A clip of people surveying the damage reveals cars, SUVs and pickup trucks piled together as far as the eye can see in a crumpled mess—in some areas, packed so tightly together that those attempting to get to the vehicles had to climb on top of them—while, elsewhere, car body parts can be seen strewn on the floor.

Another video, taken from the side of the road, shows a fire still burning from the site of the mass crash, visible through the still-heavy fog, as passersby stand and watch. In other clips, cars can be seen turned on their side and, in one case, a pickup truck planted directly on top of another.

In an update on Monday night, the Louisiana State Police said there had been seven confirmed fatalities from the pileup. More than 25 people had been taken to hospital with "varying degrees of injuries from critical to minor," while many had "sought medical assistance on their own."

The state police added that a portion of the crash site—which sits on a bridge crossing between Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain to the northwest of New Orleans—had caught fire shortly after the incident occurred.

"One tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid is being off-loaded due to a compromised tank/trailer," Louisiana State Police officials said. "Once the tanker is removed, first responders will be able to better assess the vehicles in that immediate area."

Captain Nick Manale of the Louisiana State Police confirmed to Newsweek that the tanker truck was carrying hazardous waste material which would require a cleanup operation.

"All other aspects of the crash and incident are part of the ongoing investigation," he said. "Troopers are in the process of removing the final group of vehicles. Once that is complete, a surface cleanup of the area will take place. Following the cleanup, [the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development] will begin their assessment of any damage to the bridge."

Louisiana State Police officials said the section of the I-55 would be closed for the foreseeable future and would only reopen once the vehicles had all been removed and the bridge assessed. They produced drone footage of the crash site once the fog had cleared, showing the pileup occurred on the southbound lane, while emergency vehicles attended on the northbound one.

Clarencia Patterson Reed, 46, was among those involved in the crash. She told The New Orleans Advocate newspaper that she had narrowly avoided the car ahead of her as the fog thickened, before feeling a number of vehicles behind her crash.

"It was 'boom, boom.' All you kept hearing was crashing for at least 30 minutes," she said. While her wife was injured during the crash, Reed added they were "grateful because we're alive."

Christopher Coll, 41, told the local outlet: "I've never seen anything like this before. It was horrible. It was the worst wreck I've ever seen."

The National Weather Service station in New Orleans highlighted the continuing "superfog" following the crash. The NWS said it was a combination of dense fog mixed with smoke from marsh fires. When this occurs, visibility is usually reduced to less than 10 feet and "can be very dangerous when present over highways."

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards released a statement on Monday afternoon in which he extended his prayers to those who had died in the crash. "The combination of wildfire smoke and dense fog is dangerous, and I want to encourage all Louisianans in affected areas to take extreme caution when traveling," he wrote.

Update 10/03/25, 3:05 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from a Louisiana Police Department spokesperson.