WILKES COUNTY, N.C. — More than a hundred vehicles were involved in crashes Monday morning in western North Carolina. Within a two-hour time span, Deep Gap Fire Department crews were called out to five different wrecks, one of which involved 75 vehicles and stretched down Highway 421, snarling traffic.
Officials said those who got hurt only suffered minor injuries, and the wrecks are believed to have been caused by black ice that accumulated on the roadways during the overnight and early morning precipitation.
The first call came in about 7:30 a.m. and involved a 22-vehicle accident on Highway 421 just south of Stony Fork Road, Deep Gap officials said in an update on their Facebook page Monday afternoon.
The second was a single-car crash on Old 421 and Livestock Market Road, and the third call was for traffic control help for multiple vehicles stuck on Highway 421 and Laurel Springs Church, officials said.
The fourth call involved 75 vehicles on Highway 421, stretching back from Chestnut Mountain Road and creeping into Wilkes County, spilling over from Watuaga County. The last call Monday morning was for a single-car crash on Stony Fork Road.
Deep Gap fire officials said the area near Stoney Fork Road reopened mid morning, but crews were still working to repair a broken power pole, which "may limit traffic flow while they finish."
"Only minor injuries were reported throughout all incidents and most collisions were minor. A majority of the vehicles slid off the roadway while trying to avoid the cars wrecked in the road," Deep Gap officials said on their Facebook page.
A large crash involving about 10-15 vehicles was also reported earlier Monday morning in the area of I-40 westbound and Harper Road.