(CNN) As car after car slammed into each other in whiteout conditions on a Wisconsin highway, 911 dispatchers handled hundreds of calls from frightened motorists.

The chain-reaction accident Sunday, on Interstate 41 in Neenah, Wisconsin, involved 131 vehicles, according to the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office.

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."



― Fred Rogers pic.twitter.com/wLZecxteJf — Winnebago County SO (@WCSO_Wisconsin) February 26, 2019

One person was killed -- 30-year-old science teacher Andrew Schefelker -- and 71 others were taken to area hospitals, the sheriff's office said.

The office released recordings of some of the 911 calls, revealing travelers' fears and desperation as the crashes mounted.

"Help, I'm on the highway. There's a huge accident, a huge (inaudible). I'm so scared," an unidentified woman tells a dispatcher.

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