WEST BRANCH, Iowa — Officials have classified the multiple crashes involving dozens of vehicles along Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa on Saturday a mass casualty event.
At around 9:42 a.m., the West Branch Fire Department said it responded to a “large-scale, multi-vehicle crash” on I-80 near mile marker 262. The fire department said there were multiple collisions reported along a six-mile stretch of the interstate that impacted both east and westbound traffic.
As the fire department responded, additional crashes occurred, and more resources were called in. The Iowa State Patrol, West Branch Police Department, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, West Liberty Fire & Ambulance, and several other agencies were called in to assist.
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The fire department announced on Monday that the I-80 crashes have been classified as a mass casualty incident, which it defines as an “event in which the number of injured or affected individuals overwhelms local emergency and healthcare resources in a short period of time, requiring a coordinated, multi-agency response. Roughly 40-50 individuals were triaged by medical personnel at the scene, the fire department said…