A dust storm is being blamed for a deadly pileup crash that involved 18 commercial vehicles and seven passenger vehicles last night.
Sudden Dust Storm Causes Deadly Pileup
The crash happened around 5:15 p.m. in the westbound lanes of I-10 close to mile marker 11 near Lordsburg, New Mexico.
BREAKING: Several dead after dust storm causes multi-vehicle pileup on I-10 near Lordsburg. https://t.co/82uDgQrxU7 (Video:Melissa Gardner) pic.twitter.com/o2KEnAhGtY
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) June 20, 2017
Blowing dust and high winds created limited visibility conditions and contributed to the chain reaction crash.
Five people were pronounced dead at the scene. One person died after being taken to the hospital. One of the people killed in the crash, Julissa Carevo, was only nine months old. It isn’t clear yet if any of those killed in the pileup were truck drivers.
Numerous injuries were also reported, but an official count has not yet been released.
The crash and dust storm shut down a sixty mile stretch of I-10 for hours, but all lanes were reopened before 6 a.m. today.
New Mexico State Police are still investigating the chain reaction crash.
