Another Texas leader joins the call for investigation into Fort Worth’s icy I-35 wreck
The chairman of the Texas House Transportation Committee is calling for an investigation into Thursday’s deadly pileup in Fort Worth.
Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, said North Texas lawmakers have raised concerns that the corridor of I-35W where the wreck occurred may not have been properly treated for ice ahead of the chain-reaction accident that involved more than 130 vehicles and killed six people.
“If this is true, regardless if it is the responsibility of a private entity to treat the North Tarrant Express, it is wholly unacceptable, and I’m calling on the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety to conduct a complete investigation into the circumstances surrounding Thursday morning’s traffic disaster,” Canales said in a prepared statement Friday.
Canales referred to what he described as an ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that conducts accident investigations.
Keith Holloway, a spokesperson for the agency, said it has not opened an investigation into the crash, but is “aware and monitoring the situation.” Curtis Smith, Canales’ chief of staff, in an email said TxDOT verbally conveyed to the lawmaker’s office that the federal agency is investigating.
“We are continuing to work with local and state agencies investigating and understanding all of the factors that may have contributed to the tragic chain of events that occurred along I-35W in Fort Worth on Thursday morning,” TxDOT spokesperson Veronica Beyer said in an email. “We are also cooperating with the NTSB in their initial inquiry.”
A spokesperson North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners, which oversees the toll road, on Friday said the company will work with officials as the wreck is investigated.
“We will make every resource available to Fort Worth Police and Fire and assist in any way as we all process this tragedy,” spokesperson Robert Hinkle said in a prepared statement. “Further, we are working with authorities as they investigate this incident.”
He has maintained the roads were treated prior to the wreck.
“Our crews employed Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) approved processes and began pre-treatment of the corridor well ahead of the storm earlier this week,” Hinkle said. “In the hours and days following the accident, the North Tarrant Express 35W road safety teams, together with Fort Worth emergency responders, worked to clear the interstate corridor and identify damages and any potential safety issues related to the accident. The road safety team is coordinating with the City of Fort Worth and TxDOT to ensure all safety precautions have been made as the corridor reopens to traffic.”
Canales isn’t the only lawmaker calling for an investigation into the crash.
“This horrific tragedy warrants full investigation at the local, state and federal levels, and I have personally directed the NTE to produce documentation on weather treatments, which I have yet to see,” Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, said in a prepared statement Friday. “Texans deserve all the facts and they must be brought to light swiftly.”
State Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, and state Rep. Ramon Romero have both raised questions about whether the road was de-iced.
The calls for an investigation come as more winter weather is expected in Fort Worth in the coming days. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday issued a disaster declaration for all of the state’s 254 counties and deployed state resources to help respond to the frigid forecasts.
“Texas should heed the guidance of their local leaders and stay alert to changing weather conditions in their area,” Abbott said in a prepared statement.
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 1:40 PM.
