Illinois dust storm responsible for ‘multiple fatalities’ after cars pile up in wreckage
Illinois State Police say between 40 and 60 cars wee involved in the wreckage
Drivers are speaking out following fatal crashes due to a dangerous dust storm in central Illinois late Monday morning, which led to the deaths of at least six people.
"You couldn’t even see," Evan Anderson, 25, told The Associated Press. "People tried to slow down and other people didn’t, and I just got plowed into. There were just so many cars and semi trucks with so much momentum behind them."
Anderson said a semi turned before striking his vehicle, which spared him from even more damage.
"The only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us," Tom Thomas, 43, recalled.
ILLINOIS INTERSTATE CRASH INVOLVING 72 VEHICLES LEAVES SIX DEAD, MORE THAN 30 INJURED: 'HORRIFIC'
Tom Thomas 43, of Chatham, a suburb of Springfield, was traveling to St. Louis for a visit, Monday, May 1, 2023, in Divernon, Illinois. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the scene as "horrific."
The Interstate 55 incident, which occurred at around 11 a.m., involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which state police said caught fire.
A view obtained from social media of vehicles in a dust storm that cut visibility to near zero and triggered a series of chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles, in Springfield, Illinois, May 1, 2023. (Thomas DeVore via TMX/via Reuters)
All of those who were killed were in northbound lanes, although more than 30 people on both sides of the interstate were sent to hospitals with injuries.
Those injured had minor to life-threatening injuries, with patients ranging in age from 2 to 80 years old.
"You couldn’t even see," Evan Anderson, 25, told The Associated Press. "People tried to slow down and other people didn’t, and I just got plowed into." (Thomas DeVore via TMX/via Reuters)
ILLINOIS DUST STORM RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘MULTIPLE FATALITIES’ AFTER CARS PILE UP IN WRECKAGE
Shirley Harper, an 88-year-old from Franklin, Wisconsin, was named as one of the people who perished, according to WISN 12.
Authorities set up staging areas away from the crash site.
The Interstate 55 incident, which occurred at around 11 a.m., involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which state police said caught fire. (Thomas DeVore via TMX/via Reuters)
The interstate remained shut down in both directions late Monday evening.
The National Weather Service said winds at the time of the crashes were gusting between 35 and 45 mph.
"The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility," Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said. (Thomas DeVore via TMX/via Reuters)
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Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said it was a "whiteout situation" that is typically seen in blizzards.
"The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility," he said.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
