JUNCTION/ODESSA, TX — A brutal arctic front delivered a weekend of highway chaos across West Texas, leaving twisted metal and lengthy closures in its wake as black ice and freezing precipitation turned roads into danger zones.
The worst of the wreckage unfolded Saturday night around 8 p.m. on westbound Interstate 10 near mile marker 470 in Kimble County, where a 20-vehicle pileup brought traffic to a complete standstill.
Emergency crews from the Junction Volunteer Fire Department and Kimble Rural Fire Department spent hours at the scene, working through the night to clear mangled vehicles and debris scattered across the roadway. The crash forced a full shutdown of I-10 in both directions for miles, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Further west, the storm claimed another crash on Friday night on I-20 in Odessa when a semi-truck slammed into the rear of a TxDOT snow plow. TxDOT officials used the Odessa crash to drive home a critical message: give snow plows and maintenance vehicles plenty of space.
“This is why it’s so important to give our crews space,” the agency posted alongside images of the damaged equipment.
By late Sunday morning, TxDOT San Angelo District announced that I-10 had fully reopened, though drivers are still urged to avoid non-essential travel as lingering ice and cold temperatures continue to pose hazards.
Authorities remind motorists to slow down, increase following distances, and check real-time conditions at DriveTexas.org before heading out.
Snow plow struck on I-20 in Odessa
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: