ISP releases more names of victims from dust storm crashes on Interstate 55
The victims of a massive dust storm crash that occurred on Interstate 55 just south of Springfield on May 1 included two married couples.
The pile-up happened on both northbound and southbound I-55 between mile markers 72 and 78 near Farmersville, in Montgomery.
The cause of the crash, according to the Illinois State Police, was high winds blowing topsoil from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility conditions.
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ISP has released the identities of six of the seven victims.
They are Michael and Amy Zinchuk of Champaign; Joseph and Donna Bates of Crystal Lake; Earl LeGrand of Florissant, Mo. and Shirley Harper of Franklin, Wisc.
ISP officials said they are working closely with the Montgomery County Coroner Randy Leetham to confirm the identity of the remaining victim.
According to an obituary for the couple, Michael and Amy Zinchuk met as students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They had had been returning home to central Illinois after visiting with family members in St. Louis the weekend before.
Amy Zinchuk was a well-known piano teacher in the Champaign area. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Zinchuks' three children with funeral costs.
Winds in the area were gusting up to 45 MPH, said the National Weather Service in Lincoln, which issued a Blowing Dust Warning later Monday afternoon. Winds reached as high as 54 MPH at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport that same day.
The crashes prompted the ISP to shut down the highway in both directions until about 6 a.m. Tuesday. It was closed again by the ISP and the Illinois Department of Transportation "out of an abundance of caution" for several hours later Tuesday.
A total of 72 vehicles were known to be involved in the crashes and 37 people were transported to area hospitals, including Springfield Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. John's Hospital. The injuries ranged from minor to critical.
Several local and area agencies helped over 40 ISP troopers work the crash sites over the two days, including the Springfield and Chatham fire departments and the Sangamon County sheriff's deputies.
Massive pileup on I-55 south of Springfield, Illinois has closed the interstate for nearly 30 miles. Blowing dust off freshly plowed fields led to very low visibility#ilwx
🎥: Nathan Cormier pic.twitter.com/im7QLE8BTp— Nick Hausen (@NickHausenWx) May 1, 2023
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Six of the seven victims in a series of horrific crashes on I-55 identified
