re: Horrific multi vehicle crash shuts down I-65 in South Alabama

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ABC 33/40 News
@abc3340

Two of the 10 people killed in the I-65 Butler County crash were from Tennessee. Cody Fox and his 9 month old daughter Ariana were among the victims.

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RIP

Man that is just heartbreaking.

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People like try and past 6 cars at 75 mph instead of getting over to the right lane to make way for the faster approaching car... And when every car is doing this that's how you get left lane riders and pissed off drivers.

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Here's a thought, how about thinking of 75 as fricking 5 over the speed LIMIT and not running up on people's asses as they pass someone doing the fricking speed LIMIT.

Stop being a self centered prick that thinks laws are above them. I swear, some of you don't even grasp the hypocrisy, endangering lives because you can shave 15 minutes off your travel time, then you'll probably talk shite about other people that break other laws. Traffic laws need to be met more harshly, this whole paying a fine isn't working, you're still assholes that kill people.

If you don’t understand the problem is speeding and tailgating then I don’t know what to tell you. People these days are too dumb to realize doing 85 only gets them to their destination slightly faster than 75. And God forbid they have to slow down to 80 for a few seconds for someone to get out of their way.

I love just cruising in the right lane when there’s traffic on I 12 and watching dumbass after dumbass tailgating at 75 mph in the left lane when there is absolutely nowhere to go.

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15 minutes? That's being generous. People who drive ridiculous speeds would be shocked at how little time they actually save. Yet they put themselves and everyone else on the road at risk.

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Agreed, I was being generous.

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BUTLER COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - More details are emerging about the fatal multi-vehicle crash that happened on Interstate 65 near Greenville Saturday afternoon.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock have confirmed 10 people were killed. Nine of them were juveniles.

WSFA 12 News has learned that eight of those juveniles were from an organization that helps abused and neglected children.

“This is probably the most horrific accident that I’ve ever seen,” said Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond.

The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Saturday on I-65's northbound side near mile marker 138, close to the Greenville exit.

ALEA says a total of 17 vehicles, including two commercial vehicles, were involved, with seven of those vehicles catching fire.

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One of those vehicles was a van with eight children from the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch. The organization says its mission is to offer a home to “Alabama’s needy, neglected, or abused, school-age children.”

Michael Smith, CEO of Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches, said the children were on their way back from a week away at Gulf Shores.

Smith said there were a total of nine people in the van. The only survivor was the ranch director, who is currently at a medical facility in unknown condition.

The victims from the ranch van have not yet been identified by name. A statement from ALEA said the fatalities include a 3-year-old, 8-year-old, 12-year-old, 14-year-old, 15-year-old, two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old. All of them were from Alabama and were pronounced dead at the scene.

The other vehicle had a father and his infant daughter, who both died. State troopers and Garlock confirmed them as Cody Fox, 29, and Ariana Fox, who was only 9 months old. They were from New Hope, Tennessee.

The Foxes’ deaths were also confirmed by the Marion County Emergency Management Agency in Tennessee, where a Facebook post states: “Words cannot express the grief I have felt since I received the call yesterday afternoon informing me of the death of Cody and his daughter in an automobile accident in southern Alabama. Cody was an integral part of the EMA staff in Marion County, always ready, always willing to serve. His upbeat attitude, his willingness to learn, and without a doubt the politest young man I have ever known, will be greatly missed. I offer my deepest prayers for his parents and family. He was a dedicated responder, a good son, a good brother, a good father and a good friend. I will miss him.”

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Reeltown High School also released a statement announcing a Sunday afternoon vigil “due to the tragic events involving the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, who are part of our Reeltown High School family...Please keep Tallapoosa Girls Ranch and the Reeltown family in your prayers!”

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The cause of the wreck remains under investigation, but Garlock said Saturday’s weather and hydroplaning could have played a role.

“That particular area of the accident is prone to hydroplaning,” Garlock said.

ALEA is leading the investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it is sending 10 investigators to coordinate with ALEA and look into the vehicle technologies like forward collision warning systems, CMV fuel tank integrity, motor carrier operations and occupant survivability.

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WSFA

That was tough to read
Damn
Prayers to those families, friends & the emergency responders

Seven vehicles caught fire. Passengers in five, count'em five, survived the mega wreck.

If we try to find a positive, the survival of those folks matters.

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Hydroplaning car set off chain reaction on I-65 causing crash that killed 10 in Alabama

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GREENVILLE, Ala. (WPMI) — An Alabama community continues to mourn days after several young lives were lost over the weekend in a horrific multi-vehicle crash along I-65.

Nine children were among the 10 people killed.

Now investigators are revealing more about what caused the chain reaction and how neighbors are dealing with the grief.

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On Saturday investigators say, a car hydroplaned on the bridge near the 138-mile marker on I-65. It caused a chain reaction with 15 car pile-up.

Michael Smith, the CEO of the Alabama Sheriff's Youth Ranches says their van carrying nine people, caught on fire. It was carrying 8 children from the Tallapoosa Ranch. They ranged from ages 4 to 17. They died on the scene.

"We're handling grief in so many different ways. We're mad sometimes. We're crying sometimes. We're in denial sometimes. Hopefully, we'll get to a point where we start to remember the good things from those ranch girls that we lost." said Smith

The only survivor was the driver and ranch director, Candice Gulley. Two of her children died in the crash. Smith tells me she's still in the hospital in Montgomery. When the time is appropriate they will have staff head there to support Candice and her husband.

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ABC3340

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Arent Sheriff’s Ranches Juvy’s?

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Our MISSION


The mission of the Ranches is to provide Christian, family-style residential homes for Alabama's needy, neglected, or abused, school-age children in an atmosphere where they may grow spiritually and physically into productive, responsible, and happy adults.

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ETA more about the ranches

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The Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches is a charitable, nonprofit corporation, sponsored by the Alabama Sheriffs' Association and managed by a Board of Trustees.

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The Ranch program is funded almost entirely by private donations from concerned individuals, churches, civic clubs, corporations and foundations.

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The administrative/fundraising office which raises, receives, budgets and disburses funds for the Ranch program, is located in Montgomery, Alabama.

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Life on the Ranches today centers around the same premise the Ranch program was founded more than 50 years ago. Children live in family situations with house parents on working ranches where Christian principles, hard work, responsibility, manners and loving kindness are used to help children grow strong in body, mind and spirit. It's a formula that has worked for more than five decades and continues to help children find their way. Originally founded in rural Dallas County, the Ranch program began there with the first Ranch house, Tine Davis Hall, which was dedicated in February, 1966.

The Ranch Mission

The mission of the Ranches is to provide Christian, family-style residential homes for Alabama's needy, neglected, or abused, school-age children in an atmosphere where they may grow spiritually and physically into productive, responsible, and happy adults.

Remembering the Past

The Ranches were founded in 1966 and have a long history of caring for our state's abandoned, abused and neglected children. The Ranch program was started to provide homes for needy children ages 6 to 18, not to be reform schools or correctional institutions.

How We Care for Our Children

The Ranches provide each child with caregivers and a structured living environment where the children receive love, stability and a safe place to call "home." The Ranches are actual working Ranches and require participation from the children in livestock care, farm work and lawn care. Ranchers are taught responsibility by completing daily chores and participating in daily family devotionals and pledging allegiance to the American flag. The children attend church and schools in their local communities and are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities such as youth groups, sports and clubs.

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