Update (6:15 pm Eastern): According to Illinois State Police Major Ryan Starrick, at least six people are dead as a result of the crash.
BREAKING: Six people are dead after a windstorm in southern Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields. Officials said it was a spring version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms. https://t.co/7vwHsQdITx
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 1, 2023
Original Story
A fiery 60-car pile-up happened late Monday morning on I-55 in central Illinois. The horrific wreck appears to have been caused by loose dirt and high winds. Normally, dust storms connote the deserts of the Southwest, but the combination of dry conditions, loose soil from freshly-plowed fields, and high, gusty winds resulted in extremely low visibility which led to multiple collisions along the stretch of interstate south of Springfield, Illinois.
Video of the scene can be viewed in the tweet below.
MASSIVE PILE-UP IN ILLINOIS: My heart dropped when I saw this video. This is a look at the I-55 pile-up just south of the Springfield area. This was due to high winds and loose dirt from farmland.
🎥: Nathan Cormier pic.twitter.com/tpkHp07bar— Amelia Mugavero (@amugaverotv) May 1, 2023
The accident resulted in multiple injuries and several fatalities.
Illinois State Police said the crash was reported at 10:55 a.m. local time near Milepost 76 in Montgomery County, just south of Springfield. State police later confirmed multiple fatalities from the pileup, which also injured more than 30 people who were transported to area hospitals.
Montgomery County emergency management officials said that 10 helicopters were requested to the scene, and that several buses from a local school were called to the scene to pick up stranded motorists, WAND-TV reported.
Per the Illinois State Police, at least 40 passenger cars and 20 tractor-trailers were involved in the crash, with two of the tractor-trailers catching fire following the collision.
“Visibility in the area is reported to be low due to blowing dust. Traffic is urged to seek alternate routes,” Trooper Melissa Albert-Lopez said.
Additional video below shows the scene and poor visibility.
🔴ILLINOIS :#VIDEO MASSIVE PILEUP ON I-55 IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY CAUSED BY A SUDDEN DUST STORM!
At least 100 vehicles involved.
Multiple people died, dozens injured. #BreakingNews #UltimaHora #Montgomery #Pileup #Accident #Accidente #DustStorm pic.twitter.com/Vbx5tGlySp— LoveWorld (@LoveWorld_Peopl) May 1, 2023
Due to the severity of the accident, the interstate was shut down in both directions and is expected to remain that way into Tuesday.
**UPDATE at approximately 12:11 p.m.**
Interstate 55 is shut down from milepost 52 – 80, both directions. Divernon City Hall being used as reunification post for families of people involved in the crash.— IllinoisStatePolice (@ILStatePolice) May 1, 2023
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