At least 52 people have been taken to hospital after a massive motorway pile-up in southwest Florida.
It was an apocalyptic scene on Interstate 75 between Bradenton and Sarasota on Friday when at least 50 vehicles crashed into each other.
A jack-knifed tractor trailer sandwiched a pickup truck.
A smashed car sat empty, one of its doors leaning against another vehicle.
Glass and other debris littered the roadway.
People were pulled from their vehicles, placed on stretchers and taken away.
Those uninjured walked around in disbelief, talking on their phones and waiting for wreckers.
Fifty-two people were taken to area hospitals, three of whom were airlifted from the scene with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. No fatalities were reported.
'It looks worse than it is,' Captain Susan Pierson of the Sarasota Fire Department told reporters at the scene.
Police reported the vehicles were involved in at least seven crashes near mile marker 213. The incident was called in at 3.11pm (EDT). First responders were able to contain a leak of a non-dangerous liquid from a tanker truck involved, she said.
It is unsure what caused the massive traffic accident, but weather is believed to have been a factor.
A slight hill in the area meant motorists were not able to slow down or stop in time to avoid the wreckage that was taking place in front of them, officials said.
The amount of damage worsened from the incident's first crash to the back of the pile-up, where vehicles were jumbled together, facing every direction. A few vehicles that were able to swerve around each other sat unscathed atop the overpass.
One of those belonged to Bob Carter.
'It was raining and visibility was starting to get tough,' said Carter, who was driving home to Sarasota. 'I said, 'Oh my God,' and was trying to stop. I saw the car behind me going to whack me.'
When he drove over the crest of the overpass, Carter had no idea what was waiting on the other side. And despite a slippery road, he was able pull to the shoulder and stop without hitting the vehicle in front of him. 'We're so fortunate,' Carter said.
