American Notes TENNESSEE

Interstate 75, a four-lane divided highway that crosses the Hiwassee River 35 miles north of Chattanooga, is notoriously prone to sudden fog. But the warning signs and flashing yellow emergency lights did not help last week when a gigantic chain-reaction pileup developed in the highway's gloom. Vehicles smashed into each other in all four lanes. "We couldn't see, but we knew there was something terrible happening around us," recalled motorist Sylvia Fine, who could hear the crunching sound of steel striking steel.

When rescuers finally fought their way through the fog and the wreckage, they found 83 damaged cars and trucks strung along a half-mile stretch of the Interstate. Thirteen people were killed and 50 hurt in the ill-fated roadway's third -- and worst -- major pileup since 1978. Frightened local motorists and truckers could only wonder: How many next time?