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'Nobody knew what was coming:' Fog, speed blamed for I-84 pileups

At least a dozen vehicles have collided or slid off the interstate along a quarter-mile stretch of road near Gowen Tuesday morning.

BOISE – Since the first big snowfall in the Treasure Valley Friday, the Ada County Sheriff's Office says there have been at least 131 crashes, 38 with injuries and at least 51 slide-offs.

On Tuesday alone, there were at least 21 accidents, three with injuries and at least 14 slide-offs.

A problem area Tuesday morning was along a quarter-mile stretch of road near Gowen where more than a dozen cars collided.

Westbound I-84 was shut down near the Eisenman Road exit for more than an hour and a half, but reopened just before noon.

Foggy conditions and ice on the road contributed to the crashes, an Ada County Sheriff's Office spokesman said, in addition to drivers going too fast for conditions.

Boise Police say visibility was reduced to less than 150 yards in the area.

Dispatchers say despite the volume of wrecks, no one was seriously hurt.

Creed Feight told KTVB he had just gotten onto the interstate when he noticed a crash up ahead of him.

He said he slowed down and moved over to the left to give the wreck a wider berth, checking in his rear-view mirror as he did so.

"Seriously, out of nowhere, I was slammed," he said. "Next thing I know, I'm on the side of the road against the railing."

From his crumpled car, Feight had a front row seat to the series of slide-offs and crashes that followed his own.

So many vehicles wrecked around him, he said, that he wondered whether he should get out of his car and leave the area entirely before he was hit again.

"It was crazy behind me - it was like a wall of cars building up." he said. "Sooner or later, I felt safe, like 'no one can hit me now, there's too many cars behind me.'"

Luckily, Feight was OK - just a "little shaken up," he said.

He echoed law enforcement in blaming dense fog and drivers going too fast for the mess.

The reduced visibilty meant that westbound motorists could not see the wrecked vehicles and debris scattered across the road until they were already upon them.

"People were going fast and there was so much fog, nobody could see anything. Nobody knew what was coming."

First responders are urging people to drive cautiously and slow down as winter driving conditions persist.

“The number one factor is that people are just traveling too fast for conditions so we want the public to plan in advance,” says Capt. Fritz Zweigart with Idaho State Police.

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