Five people, including two children, were killed in a 17-vehicle crash on Interstate 35 that closed the southbound lanes of the highway near Parmer Lane on Thursday.
The lanes remain closed Friday morning. The Texas Department of Transportation said at 6:18 a.m. it expects the closure to last for several more hours and urged drivers to find an alternate route.
First responders were called to the crash at 11:23 p.m. Thursday. Three adults, one child and one infant were killed in the crash involving a semi truck.
The crash involved 17 people total, Austin-Travis County EMS said, with 11 patients taken to local hospitals. Four adults are in critical, life-threatening condition, and one child has potentially life-threatening injuries, ATCEMS says.
In a 2:08 a.m. news conference, an Austin Police Department spokesperson said he did not have any information to share at this point on what or who caused the crash.
Austin Fire Department's spokesperson said there was a sizable diesel spill from the crash and that crews would need to clean it before the highway reopened.
"This incident was incredibly chaotic and it was spread out over about a tenth of a mile," ATCEMS Captain Christa Stedman said. "We were able to get all of the critical patients off the scene within about 40 minutes."
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