At Least 11 Killed, Hundreds Hurt in 300-Car Pileup in Italy

In one of the bloodiest episodes in Italy’s history of fog-related highway disasters, at least 11 people were killed Monday when 300 cars smashed together in a chain reaction that left twisted metal and gasoline-fed flames across a main thoroughfare in northern Italy.

Hundreds of people were hurt, some seriously.

“Italians tend to drive fast and should be aware of the extreme danger of fog,” said Roberto Miceli, a spokesman for the Automobile Club of Italy in Rome. “It’s one of our worst killers.”

Signs warning of fog danger are common, and special reflectors line roads in many fog-prone areas. But they mean nothing unless drivers heed recommendations to slow down when fog is likely, Miceli said.

The speed limit of 80 mph is widely ignored and sporadically enforced.

The site of Monday’s crash--the A-4 highway--was a graveyard of mangled metal, charred hulks and shattered glass. Some vehicles were crushed like accordions. Jackknifed tractor-trailers were wedged together, and cars were perched on guardrails.

The highway, the main route between Milan and Trieste, cuts through rolling hills near Soave, a wine-producing area 12 miles east of Verona where the crash occurred.

Some vehicles went up in flames, blistering off paint and coloring the fog with an orange glow. Rescuers used metal cutters and blowtorches to reach victims.

Traffic was snarled up to nine miles in both directions Monday. The highway was not expected to be fully open until early today.