Illinois highway reopens after dust storm crashes kill 6 – Sent-trib

DIVERNON, Unwell. (AP) — An interstate freeway in Illinois reopened Tuesday after a windstorm that kicked up clouds of blinding mud from farm fields and led to crashes that killed at the very least six individuals and injured dozens extra, police stated.

Greater than 70 automobiles, together with dozens of economic automobiles and passenger automobiles, had been concerned in crashes late Monday morning alongside a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis. The freeway was closed in each instructions after the crashes, however northbound and southbound lanes reopened round 6 a.m. Tuesday, Illinois State Police stated.

The crashes concerned 40 to 60 automobiles, together with tractor-trailers, two of which caught hearth, Maj. Ryan Starrick stated. The six individuals who died had been all in northbound lanes, whereas 37 individuals on each side of I-55 had been taken to hospitals.

These harm within the crash vary in age from 2 to 80 and have accidents from minor to life-threatening, police stated. One of many six individuals killed was Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wisconsin. Efforts to determine the 5 others continued.

Starrick instructed reporters that Monday’s wind-driven mud storm was a spring model of a “whiteout state of affairs” sometimes seen in winter snowstorms. Gov. J.B. Pritzker described the scene as “horrific.”

“The one factor you may hear after we obtained hit was crash after crash after crash behind us,” stated Tom Thomas, 43, who was touring south to St. Louis.

Dairon Socarras Quintero, 32, who was driving to St. Louis to make deliveries for his customized body firm based mostly in Elk Grove Village, stated that after his truck hit the car in entrance of him, he exited and moved to the aspect of the highway, then returned after the chain response of crashes ended behind him.

Socarras Quintero stated the mud continued to blow ferociously as he checked on different motorists and emergency crews arrived. He held up his backpack, caked with mud despite the fact that it was inside a closed truck cab.

Winds on the time had been gusting between 35 and 45 mph (56 and 74 kph), the Nationwide Climate Service stated.

“It’s very flat, only a few timber,” meteorologist Chuck Schaffer stated. “It’s been very dry throughout this space, actually, for the final three weeks. The farmers are on the market tilling their fields and planting. The highest layer of soil is kind of free.”

Evan Anderson, 25, who was returning house to St. Louis from Chicago, stated a semi turned earlier than hanging his car, sparing him much more injury.

“You couldn’t even see,” Anderson stated. “Folks tried to decelerate and different individuals didn’t, and I simply obtained plowed into. There have been simply so many automobiles and semitrucks with a lot momentum behind them.”

Authorities arrange staging areas away from the crash web site to assist vacationers reunite with mates and kin.

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Related Press reporters Rick Callahan in Indianapolis and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.