NTSB: Crews failed to de-ice road before massive Texas crash

By JAMIE STENGLE
Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — The company responsible for maintaining a Texas interstate where 130 vehicles crashed in icy conditions two years ago, killing six, failed to address the deteriorating road conditions, federal officials said Thursday.

That portion of Interstate 35 West in Fort Worth was not treated with salt the morning of the Feb. 11, 2021, crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said.

The agency said that while North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3 had pretreated the southbound lanes of I-35W 44 hours earlier with a liquid brine solution, crews checking the road about 45 minutes before the crash didn’t recognize that the elevated portion of the interstate where the crash occurred needed additional de-icing treatment.

A spokesman for North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.