FHP Defends Re-Opening I-75 Before Pileup in Gainesville, FL
The Florida Highway Patrol is still defending its' decision to reopen I-75 just before an 18-vehicle pileup sent 10 people to their graves in late January. The highway patrol had been drawing extreme criticism for its' decision to reopen the stretch of highway, which had been closed just 15 minutes before the accident because of low visibility due to fog and smoke from a nearby brush fire. 
Meanwhile, funeral services for the nearly dozen deceased have all but wrapped, leaving family members and friends at a loss of what to do. A criminal investigation is pending as authorities try to determine if the brush fire was set purposefully. If it was and the perpetrator is caught, he or she could be charged with multiple counts of manslaughter. Others suspect that family members of the deceased may try to sue the Florida Highway Patrol for wrongful death because of its' decision to reopen the road.
The Gainesville car accident disaster occurred in the early morning hours of January 29th. The highway had been closed until around 3:30 a.m., when the Florida Highway Patrol said that the fog and smoke had cleared. However, conditions apparently deteriorated fast after they reopened the stretch, and a quarter of an hour later visibility was reportedly near zero, according to the patrol as well as drivers who were at the scene.
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