Toll Rises to 8 Dead, 63 Injufred From Louisiana Interstate Pileup Blamed on Dense Fog, Marsh Fire Smoke

Responders near wreckage in the aftermath of a multi-vehicle pileup on I-55 in Manchac, La., on Oct. 23, 2023. Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

NEW ORLEANS—The toll from a series of crashes on a Louisiana interstate rose to eight dead and 63 injured Tuesday evening, a day after a “super fog” of marsh fire smoke and dense fog snared more than 160 vehicles in the fiery pileup, authorities said.

Lance Scott was among the many drivers caught in the wreckage on Interstate 55 west of New Orleans. The 51-year-old had been driving his daughter to the airport Monday morning when the fog thickened like a “white-out on a ski slope.” He slammed on his brakes, narrowly avoiding the cars in front of him while hearing “the most horrendous clank of metal” behind him.