Zhejiang, China—A high-speed chain-reaction collision involving more than fifteen commercial and private vehicles left four people dead on a major expressway Friday morning. The pileup occurred at 7:30 a.m. along a high-volume transit link, instantly freezing commuter traffic during the peak morning rush. Heavy rescue units from the regional traffic detachment used hydraulic tools to cut through the mangled vehicle frames to extract trapped occupants.

The Zhejiang Traffic Police initiated an immediate shutdown of the northbound corridor, rerouting thousands of incoming vehicles to secondary national highways. Preliminary field observations indicate that heavy early morning fog patches had drastically reduced visibility along the asphalt stretch. An initial minor collision between two freight trucks caused trailing vehicles to slam into the wreckage at cruising velocities.

Paramedics confirmed that four individuals, occupants of two small passenger sedans that were crushed between the larger commercial transport rigs, died on impact from severe crush injuries. Fire crews worked for more than two hours under difficult conditions to lift the heavy trailers to access the flattened passenger compartments below. Six other motorists were rushed to the regional hospital with serious trauma.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene of repeating impacts as drivers emerged from the thick fog layer too fast to react to the stationary block of vehicles ahead. Squealing brakes and the sound of crushing metal echoed down the corridor for several minutes before the pileup ceased expanding. Several car owners abandoned their vehicles, climbing over the concrete median barriers to escape the impact path.

Xinhua news agency confirmed that the expressway’s automated electronic warning signs, which are designed to alert drivers to drop their speeds during low-visibility weather events, were not broadcasting caution notices at the time of the initial impact. A formal technical audit has been launched to determine if sensor failures or administrative delays prevented the timely activation of the highway warning network.

Fleet safety inspectors are currently checking the black box data logs from the commercial transport trucks involved to verify if the drivers exceeded mandated speed limits during low-visibility conditions. Transport companies face heavy administrative penalties if data shows their operators failed to maintain safe braking distances inside the fog zone.

Heavy tow cranes arrived on the scene before midday to systematically pull the fractured car chassis and damaged trailers off the main tarmac onto the emergency breakdown shoulders. Maintenance crews used high-pressure water hoses to wash away large fuel spills and scattered glass fragments across all three lanes.

The remains of the four deceased commuters were moved to the municipal forensic department for formal identification and autopsy charting. Family members arrived at the facility later in the afternoon to complete the necessary documentation.

Two lanes of the expressway were reopened to restricted commercial traffic by late afternoon, though traffic units warn that heavy residual delays persist for miles behind the initial point of impact.