Watch: Iowa DOT releases video of deadly I-35 crash near Ames

Update, noon, Feb. 8: We now have a narrated version of this video explaining what you should do if you find yourself in a similar situation. Watch it here > 

The Iowa Department of Transportation has released footage from the overhead traffic cameras of yesterday's multicar pileup crash. Warning: the video may be disturbing to some viewers.

On Monday afternoon, both sides of Interstate 35 south of Ames were closed for hours after a chain reaction in the snowy southbound lanes grew and grew to claim more vehicles and victims, and the northbound lanes became access for rescue crews and tow trucks.

'In my 26 years in law enforcement, I've never seen a pileup of this nature or this severe,' Story County Sheriff's Capt. Barry Thomas told the Ames Tribune. 'The sheer number of vehicles that were involved in this is unlike anything that've I've ever seen.'

Thomas said three to five people were seriously injured and taken to the hospital, with many more minor injuries being reported in the crash, which occurred about 12:30 p.m.