Pileup on I-55 Leaves 6 Dead, Dozens Injured in Illinois

Daytime interstate traffic perspective - stock photo
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Warner Todd Huston

Six drivers died and more than 30 were injured Monday on Interstate 55 after dozens of cars and trucks slammed into each other during a dust storm near Springfield in central Illinois.

The pileups occurred about 25 miles south of the state’s capital in Springfield as massive clouds of dust were whipped through Sangamon and Montgomery Counties from recently turned farm fields lining the highway, officials said, according to CNN.

Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick reported that at least six have been found dead and more than 30 were injured in the incident.

Victims range in age from two years old to 80, authorities said.

The Illinois State Police said that upwards of 60 passenger cars and 30 commercial vehicles were involved along a two-mile stretch of the highway that runs from Chicago south to St. Louis. Many of the vehicles were set aflame by the force of the impacts. There was even a report of an explosion from the wreckage of a semitrailer.

“The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility,” the ISP noted.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln, Illinois, had issued a severe “blowing dust warning” starting at about 1:30 Monday afternoon.

All six deaths occurred in the northbound lanes, according to ABC 7.

U.S. Democrat Rep. Nikki Budzinski, tweeted, “My team and I are closely following the devastating crash on I-55 as authorities learn more. Please be safe as this situation continues to unfold.”

The stretch of highway has been closed, and traffic is being detoured onto IL-48 and IL-104 through Taylorville, authorities added.

The highway is not expected to be reopened until at least Tuesday.

Driver Nathan Cormier, who captured video of the wreckage, was stunned at the conflagration.

“People just drove into it. Proper procedure would be to put your hazards on, pull over, and let the dust cloud go, but people just kept driving into it,” he said, according to ABC 7. “I know the one car in front of me. He rear-ended a truck, and he had cracked ribs, a lot of facial contusions from airbag deployments.”

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