Several motorists were killed and about 30 people were hospitalized Monday after a collision caused by a dust storm in Illinois.
The series of collisions, involving 40 to 60 passenger cars and about 20 heavy trucks — two of which caught fire — occurred at about 11 a.m. local time on Interstate 55 in Montgomery County, south of the state capital, Springfield.
State police spokesman Ryan Starrick told local media in the afternoon that a partial death toll had been reported and about 30 people had been hospitalized.
According to the US National Weather Service, winds of 55 to 70 km/h lashed the area, creating a wall of dust that greatly reduced visibility.
“It felt like snow when I was sending videos of my kids. It felt like the end of the world,” Karen Leach, the motorist who got caught in the storm, told ABC News.
The locations have been designated by the Illinois Department of Transportation to accommodate motorists looking for loved ones lost in the storm. The Red Cross has also been called upon to help anxious people find their loved ones.
