Deadly windstorm causes multiple crashes and 6 deaths in southern Illinois

Last update: 02 May 2023, 04:59 HST

A smoldering wreckage is seen after a crash involving at least 20 vehicles closed a freeway in Illinois, Monday, May 1, 2023. (WICS TV via AP)

A smoldering wreckage is seen after a crash involving at least 20 vehicles closed a freeway in Illinois, Monday, May 1, 2023. (WICS TV via AP)

The late-morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and several tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.

A windstorm in southern Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust on agricultural fields on Monday, prompting multiple crashes that killed at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.

The late-morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and several tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.

He said at least six people died, all in the northbound lanes, and more than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were taken to hospitals with injuries.

“The only thing you could hear after we got hit was crash after crash after crash behind us,” said Tom Thomas, 43, who was traveling south to St. Louis.

I-55 was closed in both directions in Montgomery County, 120 miles north of St. Louis, and likely won’t reopen until Tuesday.

Starrick told reporters it was a springtime version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms. Governor JB Pritzker described the scene as “horrible”.

“The cause of the crashes was due to excessive winds blowing off agricultural field land across the highway, resulting in zero visibility,” Starrick said.

Winds were then gusting between 35 mph (56 km/h) and 45 mph (74 km/h), the National Weather Service said.

“It’s very flat, very few trees,” said meteorologist Chuck Schaffer. “It’s been really, really dry in this area for three weeks. Farmers are out there plowing their fields and planting. The top layer of soil is quite loose.”

Evan Anderson, 25, who was driving home to St. Louis from Chicago, said he turned around before hitting his vehicle, sparing him further damage.

“You couldn’t even see,” Anderson said. “People try to slow down and others haven’t, and I just got carried away. There were so many cars and tractor-trailers with so much momentum behind them.

Montgomery County Emergency Services Director Kevin Schott said it was a “very difficult scene” and one that is “very difficult to train for.”

“We had to search every vehicle, whether it was involved in the accident or just stopped, to check for injuries,” he said, adding that people were “upset – visibly, understandably”.

Authorities have set up staging areas away from the crash site to help travelers reunite with friends and family.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)

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