First off, we'd like to make a correction. Yesterday's report that the Trafficpocalypse was upon us was premature. Yesterday's bizarre configuration of vehicles stuck on LBJ did not augur a world-ending traffic jam. Commutes this morning were regular terrible, not apocalyptic.
What actually happened was that at least seven cars crashed into one another on eastbound I-635 near Audelia Road. (Police haven't provided a cause, but a witness told Unfair Park it was the fault of an erratic driver.) Traffic immediately backed way up, prompting some drivers near the front of the line to make a U-turn and begin navigating the wrong way down the freeway.
See also: LBJ Has Been Taken By the Trafficpocalypse
Some drivers claimed that police told them to turn around. Not so, Dallas PD said in a statement this afternoon.
They were just "apparently unwilling to wait until the collisions could be cleared." (Translation: They were impatient jerks.)
"Adding to the difficulties," police said, "one well-intentioned officer appears to have directed some motorists up a closed ramp to try and get them off the freeway with no success.
"In all, 14 Dallas police squads were assigned to assist with the collision investigation and resultant traffic tie up. Officers worked to clear the collision scenes as soon as possible and we regret that because of the location of the collisions, limited access to alternate routes and directions to a closed ramp by our officer, the problem was not cleared sooner."
DPD does not identify the "well-intentioned officer," which is probably for the best. No telling when the accumulated road rage will finally dissipate.
Send your story tips to the author, Eric Nicholson.
