Michael Luke / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS -- A three-vehicle crash and poor visibility forced the New Orleans Police Department to close Interstate-10 in eastern New Orleans at the Michoud exit during the height of the morning commute.
A smoky haze in New Orleans East, possibly from a stubborn marsh fire, caused delays for motorists in the area. Police shutdown the highway around 8:30 a.m.
With visibility less than 10 feet in the area, police closed the highway during the commute and backed up traffic for miles. The highway was reopened around 9 a.m.
One motorist in the accident said he was certain that smoke caused him to crash.
John Liberto said he was headed to Slidell this morning, when "smoke out of the clear blue" caused visibility issues. "I couldn't even see the hood of my car."
Liberto said a car was stopped in the left lane, and he hit a truck when he swerved to miss the car. He hit a second car before running off the road.
"It wasn't fog, it was smoke. I can promise you that," he said. "I definitely believe that it is the marsh fire. You can smell the smoke."
A stubborn marsh in the area that has burned since last year has bedeviled local officials who have been unable to extinguish the fire.
The fire has drawn the ire of residents in the area. Liberto, like many of the New Orleans East residents, fumed with frustration over the lingering smoke from the marsh fire and city's inability to put it out.
"Do your job," he said to city leaders.
While the highway was closed, eastbound traffic was detoured at Michoud and onto Paris Road, and westbound drivers were advised to use Highway 11.
This morning's crash was near the site of the fatal 40-vehicle crash last week. Some residents blamed the 40-vehicle crash on poor lighting along the roadway and smoke from the marsh fire.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu said last week he did not believe the marsh fire contributed to the massive pile-up on the I-10.
Tuesday, he reinforced that opinion.
"Well, I think most of it is fog, really," Landrieu said. "You know, we've been monitoring this fire on a daily basis for the last couple of months. There are thousands of marsh fires burning all across the country. This one, like many of those things, are very, very hard to get a handle on. We've done everything we can and we fly it every day."
