Authorities: 4 dead in fiery highway crash in US

Montrose (Georgia), Feb 7 (AP) More than two dozen cars, pickup trucks and tractor-trailers collided in a fiery pileup on a foggy highway in the US state of Georgia, killing at least four people and sending nine others to a hospital, officials said. Work crews on Interstate 16 were still clearing charred and twisted wreckage from the crash scene, which covered nearly a half-kilometer of the roadway, nearly six hours after the chain of crashes occurred at about 8:10 am yesterday. Crews initially reported three deaths before finding another person dead in the wreckage later yesterday. The Georgia State Patrol was still trying to piece together what started the series of wrecks involving 27 vehicles. Capt. Kirk McGlamery said even drivers who dodged to the side of cars crashing in front of them weren't safe from getting rear-ended off the highway's shoulder. "It was just a chain-reaction," McGlamery said. "I talked to two individuals involved who had come to a stop and had pulled off, one was on the shoulder and the other was trying to get out of the way, when they were struck by vehicles coming up behind them." Officials said poor visibility likely played a big part. Weather forecasts called for dense fog yesterday morning, and McGlamery said motorists reported smoke across the highway. He said a controlled burn had been permitted nearby the day before, and troopers were trying to find out if burning continued into yesterday. (AP) PY 02070529 NNNN