Sleet Causes 52-Car Pileup; Five Injured

KANSAS CITY, Kan. —  Freezing rain caused a chain-reaction accident Friday involving 52 cars, authorities said.

The pileup left a southbound stretch of Interstate 635 littered with twisted metal. Motorists shivered in the cold as tow trucks hauled off their battered cars. Despite the large pileup, only five serious injuries were reported.

“It’s not a pretty sight,” state trooper Jim Todd said as he surveyed the highway. “Because it (the weather) turned so quick, that’s why I think it caught so many people by surprise.”

The stretch of interstate was closed for about 90 minutes. Ambulances took the injured to the University of Kansas Medical Center, Bethany Medical Center and Shawnee Mission Medical Center.