Louisiana driver describes chaotic scene on Causeway Bridge

Louisiana driver stranded on Causeway Bridge describes chaotic scene after multiple accidents

Updated: December 17, 2024, 11:45 a.m. CST

20 INJURIES ARE REPORTED AT THIS TIME. WE HAVE GARY LIVE ON THE PHONE. GARY, correct me if I’m wrong. ARE YOU CURRENTLY ON THE CAUSEWAY? I’m telling you, yes, I’m at mileage 11.8, so I’m there. And about a quarter of a mile in front of me are four cars lined up evenly, so to speak. By the way, probably looking for a way to escape the accident. But of course, when they were destroyed, everyone behind them started pushing into them. This resulted in another section behind them becoming wrecked. And of course I would have had a van within a few inches of the area I’m in. The Amazon trucks were pushing into me and it was my decision not to hit the person in front of me but to try to get out of the way and thank God it worked. SO I HAVE ZERO INJURIES. I see the Jefferson Parish Fire Department on the bridge, escorting an elderly man. He had blood on his shirt, but it looked more like a facial injury. BUT he was fine. He walked and they drove the entire middle of this stretch, which is probably close to half a mile of cars. ASKING IF ANYONE NEEDS TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL. The fog has become incredibly thicker. It somehow cleared up with a little breeze. Well, you can’t see yourself at the moment, but you can see yourself about a simple block in front of you. So I don’t see too many injuries. I saw the Causeway police involved in the accident. He passed me early. I began this endeavor in the year 815. So this happened around the year 830. As the Lord said before you, I am heading north. So there is no traffic on the south side. Because we are here again, you know better than I that there is an accident on this side too. Well, GARY, the images you send to our newsroom are horrifying to say the least. I’m so grateful that you’re okay. Will you receive a message about how long you will stay on the bridge? HOW LONG? MAYBE THIS PERMANENT? Nobody says anything other than it will take a while. So I don’t know what that means. And one can only guess. Everyone says we’ll stay here for eight hours. I heard three hours, but all the way south, trucks are heading that way. I GUESS. Eliminate an accident. I mean, lots of big ones, I guess. The destroyers headed in that direction. Emergency units, etc. But everyone’s spirits out here are pretty good. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE INJURIES, BUT NOT LIFE-THREATENING. There were no ejections. I went all the way to the front and all the way to the back just looking at it and taking pictures etc, but I’m grateful that so many people and so many accidents, people with their lives got out of their cars. I know it’s a very emotional scene out there at this hour. GARY, what do you remember about the morning you arrived at the causeway? Guide me through this moment. OK. I think it was a failure because it said as you entered thick fog ahead. DRIVE SLOWLY. And if that’s true, then why are you even letting me go to the dam? So I came over and I guess I’m 11 miles away. You started to see the fog getting very thick. Well, before you knew it, all you saw up front was a mass moving back and forth, weaving cars, some spinning and about to fly over the side. On the edge, but back on the road. It redirected them, and I look in my rearview mirror, I hear three, four explosions coming at me from these vehicles, and I’m trying to move up to avoid getting hit. It had to be, I don’t know. I’m going to say a foot. Was it two feet? I’M NOT SURE. IN THE ENTIRE PROCESS. I know it was close, but I was able to get far enough forward. BUT DON’T HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS AND DON’T GET HIT FROM BEHIND. WOW. AND LORD. GARY, MANY MANY AMAZON TRUCKS. IRONIC. I mean, I’ve seen AT LEAST SIX here and at PENSKE and TRUCK RENTALS THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEIR VANS. But I’m not saying they cause any problems. THEY WERE GREAT. AND LORD. GARY, HAVE YOU SEEN ANY POLICE OFFICERS INJURED IN THIS ACTION? THE ONLY CAR WAS A CAUSEWAY POLICE WHO WAS PUSHED AGAINST THE LEFT RAIL AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF HIS CAR WAS DESTROYED BY THE 18 WHEEL. He’s the first police officer I’ve seen here. Go back to check on others. And he was great. He was in good spirits and looked like he was in charge. So he was good. NO INJURIES FOR THE POLICE. WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH. That was the Causeway police, by the way. AND AT THIS HOUR, MR. GARY, YOU DON’T GIVE AN ESTIMATE HOW MANY OR HOW LONG THEY ARE ON THE BRIDGE AT THIS MOMENT, CORRECT? No, the effort seems to be a lot of emergency people walking through the crowd saying, “Do you need to go to the hospital?” DO YOU NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL? And I only saw one gentleman being escorted. NO, I TAKE THAT BACK. TWO PEOPLE ARE ACCOMPANIED BACK. One of these was a vehicle that was heavily involved in the accident. BEHIND ME IN A CHEVROLET TRUCK. WHITE TRUCK WITH. He must be some kind of construction worker. HE HAS LADDERS, BUT THE VEHICLE WAS HIT SEVERAL TIMES AND HE WALKED AWAY WITH A limp. They held his arms and made sure he was okay. So these two, the older gentleman and this gentleman there is the extent I heard a lady in the front talking about, I’m probably suffering from whiplash and I’m going to take a look at it. She was like a nurse, so she wore a badge, but that was it. We got lucky, but I see a car right behind me, just 20 feet from my car, pushing over the side. MISTER. GARY, we are incredibly grateful that you have the time and courage to talk to us about how many ambulances are you currently seeing? Well, I can’t see any at the moment because I’m in the middle of confusion. BUT THERE MUST BE AT LEAST 30 HAPPENING ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT NO ONE CAN GET TO US. THERE’S A SOLID BLOCK BEHIND ME, AND THEN A QUARTER OF A MILE HIGHER. That’s where the accident started. So these four cars are sandwiched between each other, blocking the entire path. And then I have one, two, three, four vehicles behind me blocking any possibility of getting to that side. So we’re stuck in the middle. I have to rely on the front accident being cleared before we get through. AND LORD. GARY, JUST TO MAKE SURE WHERE YOU ARE NOW, TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE, NO ONE IS HURT WHERE YOU ARE NOW. NO, PEOPLE ACTUALLY ARE SITTING AT THE SITE, JUST PLACING AND SHAREING THEIR EXPERIENCES. GOD WAS OUT HERE WITH MANY OF US. GARY, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MESSAGE TO THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WATCHING NOW? Well, of course you should stay away from this area. We have to make better decisions. I have to make better decisions. Seeing that there wasn’t much I could do, I didn’t see the sign until I got in. But I want to encourage you that we don’t like it if the dam gets closed, but we certainly don’t like it if that happens. So I guess my message would be. EMBRACE YOUR FAMILIES BECAUSE THINGS HAPPEN. All right, sir. GARY, I WILL LET YOU GO. I can’t thank you enough for your time. And you provide context and insight into this tragic situation. AT THIS HOUR. We really appreciate that. And we want you to stay safe out there. WDSU is always up to date. IN ORDER. THANK YOU SO MUCH, LORD. GARY. I’m glad you’re okay. SO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. A VERY EMOTIONAL DRIVER. MISTER. GARY, WE CANNOT THANK HIM ENOUGH. He describes a very emotional scene. Heartbreaking.

Louisiana driver stranded on Causeway Bridge describes chaotic scene after multiple accidents

Updated: December 17, 2024, 11:45 a.m. CST

A man stranded on the Causeway Bridge in New Orleans became emotional Tuesday after describing the chaotic scene of multiple car crashes. Gary Cassard is stuck on the northbound bridge at mile marker 11.8. Cassard said an accident happened a half-mile in front of his car. He said four cars were crushed in that accident. According to Cassard, this wreck caused several wrecks behind him. He said he narrowly missed getting into an accident himself. Cassard said he heard Jefferson Parish firefighters on the bridge asking if anyone was hurt. He said he also saw an older man with blood on his shirt. Cassard said no one around him appeared to have life-threatening injuries. Cassard said the fog moved in quickly and described it as “incredibly thick.” As he described the wreckage, Cassard became emotional and urged people to hug their families. Listen to his full interview with WDSU in the video above.

NEW ORLEANS –

A man stranded on the Causeway Bridge in New Orleans became emotional Tuesday after describing the chaotic scene of multiple car crashes.

Gary Cassard is stuck on the northbound bridge at mile marker 11.8.

Cassard said an accident happened a half-mile in front of his car. He said four cars were crushed in that accident.

According to Cassard, this wreck caused several wrecks behind him. He said he narrowly missed getting into an accident himself.

Cassard said he heard Jefferson Parish firefighters on the bridge asking if anyone was hurt. He said he also saw an older man with blood on his shirt.

Cassard said no one around him appeared to have life-threatening injuries.

Cassard said the fog moved in quickly and described it as “incredibly thick.”

As he described the wreckage, Cassard became emotional and urged people to hug their families.

Listen to his full interview with WDSU in the video above.