Authorities identified the first of six victims who died in Monday’s dust storm crash in central Illinois and said they believed they had identified three others — but asked for the public’s help for information on the other two victims.
At a news conference Tuesday, Illinois State Police director Brendan F. Kelly appealed to the public for help in identifying the two remaining victims. He said one had been driving a blue Chrysler 300 and the other a Hyundai, but could not provide other identifying details.
Troopers, backed up by personnel from 40 other agencies, began battling fires and trying to rescue people from at least 72 vehicles involved in crashes on the central Illinois highway. Even with the doors of their vehicles closed, fine dirt worked its way inside, authorities said. Witnesses have described suddenly encountering a wall of dust as they traveled the highway Monday morning. The National Weather Service said dust had been picked up by strong gusts of wind from nearby farm fields and blown across the road.Cars and trucks began piling into one another and Kelly said the total number of vehicles involved was likely higher than the 72 confirmed by police because some were able to drive from the scene. Two trucks caught fire, with flames spreading to other vehicles.
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