Illinois dust storm pile-up crash on I-55 involving 72-vehicles leaves 6 dead, over 30 injured
An Illinois dust storm led to a pile-up crash on I-55 that killed six people and injured more than 30 others, closing a stretch of the interstate.
Illinois State Police said incident began just before 11 a.m.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A dust storm in central Illinois led to a pile-up crash of more than 70 cars that killed six people and injured more than 30 others Monday.
Crushed vehicles lined the expressway south of Springfield, closing a nearly 20-mile stretch of I-55.
Authorities continue to work to clear that stretch of the expressway, which they hope to re-open sometime Tuesday.
Illinois State Police have released the identity of one victim, 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, Wisconsin.
WATCH: Illinois State Police give update on downstate crashes
Police said three other people have been identified, but their names have not yet been released. Two of the people identified were from Champaign, Illinois and one was from Florissant, Missouri.
A total of 72 cars crashed into each other, with drivers describing the burned and mangled metal as surreal.
Quetta Penson was driving home to Chicago. She saw the aftermath of dozens of crashes on this two-mile stretch of I-55about 30 miles south of Springfield.
"It felt like a war zone," Penson said. "We could see bodies that were just lifeless laying in the grass on the side of the road."
The problems began at around 11 a.m. Monday. High winds blew dust from nearby farm fields onto the interstate near mile post 76 in Montgomery County, bringing the visibility down to near zero.
"The proper procedure would be to put your hazards on, get on the side of the road and let the dust cloud go, but people kept just driving into it," driver Nathan Cormier said. "If I hadn't moved to the left lane, I would have been crushed behind the two red cars behind me."
The Illinois Department of Transportation tweeted just after 11:15 a.m. that I-55 was closed in both directions between Divernon and Farmersville, Illinois in Sangamon and Montgomery counties.
Authorities said injuries range from minor to life threatening and the ages of those injured range from two to 80 years old.
As crews work to clear the wreckage, there may have been hazardous materials that spilled. Officials want to ensure all of that is cleaned up before they re-open the area.
Drivers were in disbelief and said visibility was almost non-existent once you got inside the cloud, which moved over I-55 without warning.
Many didn't have time to brake, slamming into cars and trucks in their path.
Cormier captured video of the scene. He was able to slow down just in time to avoid being hit by two cars around him, and one of the first cars to see what loomed ahead over the southbound lanes.
Cormier said he hopped out of his car and started helping pull other stunned drivers from their cars before emergency responders could even cut through the traffic snarl to start evacuating drivers.
He was covered in dust after the effort.
"I know the one car in front of me. He rear-ended a truck, and he had cracked ribs, a lot of facial contusions from airbag deployments. It was a doozy day. It's still going. When I drove into it, it was light at first, and then it just became a, pretty much a gray out," he said.
Cormier was stranded for about four hours.
By later in the day Monday, he was able to get out of the mess, as crews slowly work to clear debris.
Dust storms like this are not uncommon in Illinois.
ABC7 Chicago meteorologist Larry Mowry said winds have been 35 to 45 mph in the area, which has been dry.
Farmers also had just been planting, said Megan Styles, environmental scientist University of Illinois Springfield.
The storm seems to cover 20 to 30 miles, originating several miles west of the I-55 corridor.
Source: WLS-TV
