The crashes involved 40 to 60 cars, along with tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, state police said. The interstate highway was closed in both directions after Monday's crashes, but northbound and southbound lanes reopened around 6 a.m. Certainly dust storms happen, but it is not something that happens every day here in this part of Illinois or any part of Illinois,” Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said at a news conference Tuesday. Louis and just south of the state capital of Springfield, came as high spring winds kicked up dust at a time when farmers are busy tilling or planting their fields, police said. Monday’s deadly and fiery crashes along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 in central Illinois, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. And when it was over, almost 40 people were injured and six people were dead - two of them still unidentifiable. They slammed into one another, leaving them mangled or in some cases, burned. As darkness enveloped them, some cars and trucks hurtling down the road put on their brakes others didn't. The brown cloud's intensity caked even the insides of vehicles in dirt. Winds stirred up a wall of dust from farm fields that engulfed a stretch of busy interstate highway in a matter of minutes. KFGSI1kDvK- IllinoisStatePolice May 2, 2023 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Click on the link provided to view the latest press release from the Montgomery crash on Interstate 55. “We had to search every vehicle, whether they were involved in the accident or just pulled over, to check for injuries,” he said, adding that people were “upset - visibly so, understandably so.”Īuthorities set up staging areas away from the crash site to help travelers reunite with friends and family.Ĭopyright 2023 The Associated Press. Kevin Schott, director of emergency services in Montgomery County, said it was a “very difficult scene” and one that’s “very hard to train for.” There were just so many cars and semitrucks with so much momentum behind them.” “People tried to slow down and other people didn’t, and I just got plowed into. Louis from Chicago, said a semi turned before striking his vehicle, sparing him from even more damage. The top layer of soil is quite loose.”Įvan Anderson, 25, who was returning home to St. The farmers are out there tilling their fields and planting. “It’s been very dry across this area really for the last three weeks. “It’s very flat, very few trees,” meteorologist Chuck Schaffer said. Winds at the time were gusting between 35 mph (56 kph) and 45 mph (74 kph), the National Weather Service said. He held up his backpack, which was caked with dust even though it was inside a closed truck cab. Socarras Quintero said the dust continued to blow ferociously as he checked on other motorists and emergency personnel arrived. Louis to make deliveries for his custom frame company based in Elk Grove Village, said that after his truck hit the vehicle in front of him, he exited and moved to the side of the road to ensure his safety, then returned after the chain reaction of crashes ended behind him. “The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility,” Starrick said.ĭairon Socarras Quintero, 32, who was driving to St. Pritzker described the scene as “horrific.” Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms. Louis, and likely won’t reopen until Tuesday. I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St.
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