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2 die in Texas highway pileup

At least 100 vehicles were involved in the accident on I-10 near Beaumont. Police said extreme fog blanketed the area.

Cars and Trucks are piled on Interstate 10 in Southeast Texas Thursday Nov. 22, 2012. The Texas Department of Public Safety says at least 35 people have been injured in a more than 50-vehicle pileup. (AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Guiseppe Barranco) Mandatory Credit
Cars and Trucks are piled on Interstate 10 in Southeast Texas Thursday Nov. 22, 2012. The Texas Department of Public Safety says at least 35 people have been injured in a more than 50-vehicle pileup. (AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Guiseppe Barranco) Mandatory CreditRead moreAP
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BEAUMONT, Texas - Two people died and more than 80 people were hurt Thursday when at least 100 vehicles collided in Southeast Texas in a pileup that left trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage.

The collision occurred in extremely foggy conditions about 8:45 a.m. Thanksgiving Day on Interstate 10 southwest of Beaumont, a Gulf Coast city about 80 miles east of Houston.

A man and a woman were killed in a Chevrolet Suburban crushed by a tractor-trailer, the Texas Department of Public Safety told KFDM-TV.

Officials at Acadian Ambulance service said that at least 51 people had been taken to area hospitals and at least eight were critically hurt.

It wasn't immediately clear how the pileup occurred, but Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Deputy Rod Carroll said the fog was so thick that deputies didn't immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents.

"It is catastrophic," Carroll said. "I've got cars on top of cars."

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Stephanie Davis told KFDM that at least 100 cars and trucks were involved in the accident.

Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help as authorities sorted through the wreckage.

"It's just people helping people," Carroll said. "The foremost thing in this holiday season is how other travelers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured."

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