(Divernon) A severe windstorm kicked up dangerous clouds of dust from farmland toward the freeway Monday in Illinois, blinding drivers and causing multiple crashes, which resulted in “several fatalities,” police said.
Late morning crashes on Interstate 55 involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said. .
The freeway was closed in both directions in Montgomery County, 120 miles north of St. Louis in south central Washington.
Major Starrick told a news conference that the crashes were caused by zero visibility due to strong winds blowing across the road from dry dirt from nearby fields.
He spoke of “several deaths”, but did not give an exact figure, saying a final toll would be released later.
Major Starrick said, however, that more than 30 people had been transported to hospitals following the accidents, which occurred in both directions of the highway.
Winds were gusting between 55 and 75 km/h at the time, the US National Weather Service said.
Meteorologist Chuck Schaffer points out that this area is very flat, with few trees, and that the weather has been very dry in this region for three weeks. However, farmers are currently plowing their fields to plant the seeds, which means that the top layer of the land is quite loose.
