Multiple Deaths and Injuries following Dust Storm in Illinois

45 mile per hour winds swept through nearby farms and fields picking up dirt, soil and other debris blinding drivers.

A rare and blinding dust storm caused a massive pileup in central Illinois yesterday, leaving multiple dead and injured. Six people were killed and at least 37 were hospitalized with injuries ranging from minor to life threatening. Their ages span form two-years-old to eighty according to state police. More than 70 vehicles crashed on a two mile stretch of I55 when forty five mile per hour winds swept through nearby farms and fields picking up dirt, soil and other debris blinding drivers. Multiple commercial vehicles and tractor trailers were involved in the pile up, including two semi-trucks that caught fire. Cleanup continued throughout the night but the interstate has since reopened.