Six people were confirmed dead in a series of highway collisions Monday in rural Illinois that were blamed on a blinding dust storm, authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirty-seven other people, ages 2 to 80, were hospitalized with injuries from minor to life-threatening, Illinois State Police said in a statement Monday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The collisions, reported just before 11 a.m., involved 72 vehicles in multiple pileups along a 2-mile stretch of Interstate 55 north of Farmersville, state police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility,” State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said at a news conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Involved in the collisions were two big rigs that had been on fire, as well as other commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, the latter of which composed a majority of the wreckage, Starrick said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the dead were found in northbound lanes, state police said in their latest statement, although there was also wreckage on the southbound side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One crash victim was identified as 88-year-old Shirley Harper of Franklin, Wisconson, according to the statement. Others were expected to be identified by the Montgomery County Coroner\u2019s Office in the coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first pileup was reported on the northbound side of the interstate, which runs through farm country. Starrick said topsoil and dust from nearby farms were blown across the roadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is not uncommon,” Starrick said. “This has happened before in various parts of the state of Illinois.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he said, the number of vehicles and casualties was unusual. A Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency official said at the news conference that it was difficult to reach the injured because some vehicles were on fire when first responders arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Weather Service on Monday forecast “widespread blowing dust,” with gusts of 34 mph possible, for the Farmersville area. Winds were out of the northwest, federal forecasters said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State police said visibility continued to be low. The interstate was closed in both directions north of Farmersville, a small village along a defunct stretch of Route 66, as investigators tried to determine the chain of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starrick said the interstate could be closed until Tuesday afternoon, and state police urged motorists to continue to seek alternative routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n