2 Multi-Car Wrecks On Icy Texas 45 Lead To Multiple Injuries

AUSTIN, TX — Emergency crews were kept busy Thursday amid icy road conditions, including being dispatched twice to Texas 45 for wrecks involving multiple vehicles leading to several injuries. A portion of U.S. 183 also was deemed too treacherous to travel on, prompting its closure.

A 26-car pileup during the morning rush hour along Texas 45, just outside Cedar Park, resulted in several injuries. Austin-Travis County EMS officials on Twitter categorized most of the injuries as minor but five people required hospitalization.

Drivers were urged to avoid the area, and officials urged motorists to drive with extra caution given ice formation on area roadways.

Some eight hours later, EMTs responded to a second wreck involving five cars on the same highway during the afternoon rush hour just before 6 p.m. Officials said the second wreck involving up to a half-dozen vehicles involved 14 people, four of whom had to be hospitalized. Five disabled vehicles required towing, officials noted.

The dual dispatches along the same roadway prompted a rare move by Austin-Travis County EMS in suggesting the artery be closed. "Recommendation is to shut this area down overnight," officials wrote succinctly on Twitter.

Police and state road crews also were prompted to close Highway 183 between Cameron Road and the Cedar Park city limits. "Drivers should avoid overpasses in all other areas & not travel unless it’s a necessity," police wrote in announcing the road closure.

The National Weather Service earlier placed the area under a winter weather advisory in alerting residents to potentially treacherous road conditions amid freezing rain and falling temperatures.

Related coverage:

• Central Texas Under Winter Weather Advisory Due To Icy Roads
• Brutal Winter Blast Headed To Austin Region

The winter weather advisory is in effect until midnight for Travis and Williamson counties.