On May 28, 2005, at approximately 3:25 pm, Van Fire Department and three other agencies received a call for mutual aid from Canton Fire Department to assist with extrication and fire suppression on a major vehicular accident involving three eighteen wheelers and eight passenger cars.
The accident was located at Interstate 20 and mile marker 519, about 10 miles west of Canton, Texas, 21 miles west of Van, Texas.
The cause of the accident is believed to have been due to an earlier accident, involving two eighteen wheelers and two passenger vehicles, which had slowed traffic down.
Wet roads and holiday weekend traffic also attributed to the accident. Other agencies involved were Wills Point Fire Department, which took Incident Command on arrival, Grand Saline EMS and Ben Wheeler Fire Department.
No fatalities were reported and twelve people were transported to nearby hospitals in Terrell and Tyler, Texas.
More pictures of this incident can be seen at www.vanfirerescue.com.
