Victims identified, survivors recall terrifying scene as cars piled up in Fort Worth

Survivors recall deadly Fort Worth pileup

Some of the many people involved in Thursday's chain-reaction crash in Fort Worth were stuck in the wreckage for what must have seemed like an eternity. And their families waited for word on them. FOX 4's Hanna Battah shared some of the stories.

FORT WORTH, Texas - More details are being released about the victims of the chain-reaction crash in Fort Worth Thursday and the survivors who had to wait for hours to be rescued.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner has identified five of the six people who died in the crash – 54-year-old William Williams of Pahoa, 49-year-old Christopher Vardy of Boyd, 47-year-old Michael Wells of Justin, 45-year-old Aaron Watson of Fort Worth and 34-year-old Tiffany Gerred of Northlake.

The pileup on Interstate 35W just north of downtown happened right around rush hour so many if not most of the people involved were essential workers.

"If you think about the timing of the crash and people who can’t opt not to travel, it’s going to be your frontline health care workers and others, truckers as well," said Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar Ambulance Service.

Zavadsky said many of the 65 people injured in the crash were wearing scrubs or had hospital IDs on. More than half went to hospitals for treatment.

Cleanup continues at site of deadly Fort Worth pileup

Work continues to try to clear the massive wreck on Interstate 35W in Forth Worth that left six people dead and dozens injured.

Some people who witnessed the crash also rushed to help free trapped drivers.

Ryan Chaney was headed to work on I-35W when he was involved in a fender bender on the main lanes. Around the same time, he heard the sound of vehicles skidding and crashing in the TEXpress lanes.

Chaney said he immediately ran to help people trapped inside their cars. He had to break the window of one SUV to pull a woman out.

"After beating on it for what seemed like three minutes I got a hole. I was able to get my hand through it but it was still too tough so I ended up just punching it until it finally gave out. I pulled her out and got her over the barrier," Chaney recalled. "So many people were just kind of popping up and getting people out of their cars. I mean, within a few minutes this thing was half a mile and longer."

Tamara Porter’s husband was on his way to work when his car got hit by three other vehicles.

"He was like somebody hit me from behind. Like three cars hit me. The car is totaled. I’m like I don’t care about the car. I can replace the car. I can’t replace you," she said.

She shared a photo of his totaled car. He also injured his arm and was treated at a hospital.

"It’s hard. It’s so hard. I just want to hold him. Sorry... it’s hard," Porter cried. "I never thought that I would be in a situation like this, you know. Things happen and car accidents happen every single day but this one for a 100-car pileup, that’s hard."

"This was an unbelievable scene from the perspective of not only the scene safety issues, the multiple casualties that we had. It was dark. It was freezing cold. It was raining and freezing when the rain hit the ground," Zavadsky said.

Paramedics who were worried about hypothermia brought in buses to keep the survivors warm in the freezing temperatures. A reunification center was later set up for people involved in the pileup to reconnect with their families.

Fort Worth police said four officers were also injured in the crash. Three were on their way to work and one was injured helping at the scene. They’ve all been released from the hospital.