Two people are in the hospital after a series of early morning accidents along highway 99.
The accidents started just before 8:00 AM Wednesday morning in the South Valley near the 198 merge near Goshen. Traffic slowed down and the dense fog combined with rush hour traffic had dangerous results. Traffic began to back up and people traveling too fast for the conditions caused a larger pileup north of Caldwell.
When it was all over, two people were taken to the hospital and at least thirty-five vehicles and four big rigs were involved. The California Highway Patrol shut down the stretch of Highway 99 at Caldwell for about two hours to allow crews to clear away the wrecked vehicles.
The California Highway Patrol is considering this the first real fog-related pileup of the season but they and Caltrans say this is just the beginning.
Eric Alvarez with Caltrans said this sort of accident could have been eliminated if drivers knew how severe traffic was ahead of them, which is the purpose of a fog warning system that is being installed. The twelve mile pilot program will be set up on Highway 99 between Fowler and Kingsburg and will consist of automated signs, motion detectors and video cameras to let drivers know when there are traffic problems or dangerous conditions ahead.
