NEWS
Illinois Dust Storm Causes 60 Car Crash on I-55, Fatalities, Per Reports. Scene Photos. Near Farmersville and Springfield, Illinois.
Multiple people are dead and dozens more are injured after a dust storm caused multiple accidents Monday on Interstate 55 in central Illinois, officials said.
A combination of freshly plowed fields and gusty winds kicked up a dust storm that reduced visibility to near zero, according to the National Weather Service.
The Illinois State Police responded to multiple accidents on northbound and southbound I-55, which was shut down in both directions from milepost 63 to milepost 80 in southern Sangamon and northern Montgomery counties.
Photos shared by Thomas DeVore show wrecked vehicles piled up on the highway and in the grassy median. The air is thick with dust, and in some photos, the dust cloud over the scene can be seen from a distance.
According to police, the first crash occurred at 10:55 a.m. in the northbound lanes at milepost 76. Numerous others followed in both directions, involving approximately 20 commercial motor vehicles and 40–60 passenger cars, police said. Two semi-trailer trucks caught fire, police said.
As of 3:30 p.m., police reported more than 30 injured were being transported to hospitals. Police reported “multiple fatalities” but did not specify how many.
