Photos from the wrecks show a thick yellow haze in the air hanging over the highway. “This was a localized event by localized conditions.” “The deciding factor today was the tilled fields,” he said. “The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility,” Illinois State Police said in a news release.ĬNN meteorologist Chad Myers said 45 mph winds picked up the dust and suddenly made it nearly impossible to see on the short stretch of highway. The seventh victim has yet to be identified, but state police said they are working closely with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office to identify the person and their information will be released once the family has been notified.ĭust that was kicked up from tilled fields was blamed for the poor visibility. Police named five other victims Saturday, including Earl LeGrand, 64 from Florissant, Missouri and four from Illinois: Joseph Bates, 74, and Donna Bates, 71, both from Crystal Lake and Michael Zinchuk, 55, and Amy Zinchuk, 54, both from Champaign. One of those killed in the wrecks was Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wisconsin, police said Monday evening. Those injured ranged in age from 2 to 80, Illinois State Police Maj. Thirty-seven people were hospitalized with injuries ranging from life-threatening to minor, Illinois State Police said.

The state capital, Springfield, is in Sangamon County. in Montgomery and Sangamon counties south of the state capital after dust from newly plowed fields took over the highway, police said. The crashes along Interstate 55 happened shortly before 11 a.m. An interstate in central Illinois reopened Tuesday, a day after at least seven people were killed as more than 70 vehicles crashed in a dust storm, officials said.

Novel the lincoln highway