TARRANT COUNTY A spot along the westbound lanes of Interstate 20 in Forest Hill Tuesday morning didn't just prove dangerous... it was deadly.
A News 8 crew was out covering a fatal accident that happened around 5 a.m. when they started noticing car after car getting into wrecks at the very same spot.
In total, we witnessed six wrecks in about 60 minutes starting around 7:30 a.m.
Forest Hill police knew this was bad news, and told our crew dispatch had called the Texas Department of Transportation for help with sanding and debris removal.
About 45 minutes after police said they called TxDOT for help, sanding trucks showed up. But that was too late for the half-dozen drivers we saw crash here during the morning commute.
So why did it take so long?
TxDOT spokesman Michael Peters told News 8 the organization had no record of that call from Forest Hill police, and that crews showed up only because it was part of their normal route.
'In a storm like this, we do our best to keep the roads passable, and we used all of our crews,' Peters said.
He added that those 130 crews pre-treated and then treated the roads including I-20 numerous times throughout the night and morning.
Petes said typically, if TxDOT gets a call from emergency personnel, crews will be dispatched immediately.
What happened in this case is still unclear.
Forest Hill police checked their call logs for News 8 Tuesday afternoon and said they show a call for a sand truck shortly after the fatal accident cleared.
It capped off a frustrating day for Tarrant County drivers.
E-mail lzakalik@wfaa.com
