6 dead, dozens injured after freak dust storm causes mass highway pileup

Six people were killed and more than three dozen were hospitalized after an intense dust storm led to a mass car crash May 1 over a two-mile stretch of road along Interstate 55 in Illinois' Montgomery County, about three and a half hours south of Chicago.

Authorities say excessive winds blew dirt from nearby farms, causing zero visibility on roads. More than 70 vehicles were involved in the pileup, according to Illinois State Police, with many flipped over or smashed and tractor-trailers catching fire.

All six fatalities occurred in the northbound lanes, while accidents occurred on both sides of the road. More than 30 agencies responded to the scene.

One of the victims has been identified as Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wisconsin. Those who were injured range in age from 2 to 80.

“This is a difficult scene, something that is very hard to train for, something that we really haven’t experienced locally,” Montgomery County EMA Director Kevin Schott said during a press conference.

Nathan Cormier was driving when the accident occurred.

“I got lucky, I didn’t get crushed. I could’ve been,” he told NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago.

Cormier managed to flee the scene safely and helped others in need.

“I pulled off to the left side here and got out, started going to different cars because there was cars all over the median and on the other side of the road, everywhere,” he added.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called the scene “horrific” in a statement.

During a press conference, Major Ryan Starrick with the Illinois State Police Southern Region command said, “My heart goes out to anybody that found themselves involved in this particular situation. My heart goes out to them."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com