The State : 45 Vehicles Crash in Fog

Forty-five vehicles crashed in a series of accidents in dense fog along California 99 near the Kern County community of McFarland, the California Highway Patrol reported. All told, officers counted eight accidents, but only one or two serious injuries. Both were in the last of the chain-reaction wrecks, a 20-vehicle pileup triggered by vehicles slowing for the earlier accidents. Patrolman Rick Odom said the crashes began at 6:40 a.m. and occurred in three clusters, forcing closure of southbound lanes of the highway near California 46 for about an hour. Visibilities as low as 30 feet were reported in the area.