2 children are among 6 dead after Montana highway pileup
Two children are among the six people who died in a Montana pileup after a Friday evening dust storm caused blackout conditions on Interstate 90, a major route in both Montana and the Western U.S.
Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson said investigators so far have found no other factors that contributed to the pileup, which also sent eight other injured people to hospitals.
“Everything is indicative of an isolated extreme weather event,” Nelson said of the investigation, calling the crash among the worst he’d seen in 24 years with the state. “What could people do? It really was just panic.”
The pileup was just west of Hardin, with additional ambulances called in from Billings to help. The identities of the dead and conditions of the survivors are not yet being released.
The crash was reported around 4:30 p.m., as 21 vehicles, including six commercial semitrucks, lost control in the dust storm that was fueled by gusts topping 60 mph, authorities said.
Nelson said there was zero visibility for a mile-long stretch during a peak summer traffic hour for those commuting home from work or traveling for outdoor recreation.
It took more than six hours to fully reopen the road.
“We had a lot of debris and complete chaos,” Nelson said.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said on Twitter: “I’m deeply saddened by the news of a mass casualty crash near Hardin. Please join me in prayer to lift up the victims and their loved ones. We’re grateful to our first responders for their service.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement that the Montana Highway Patrol, which he oversees, was investigating. “We will release more information as it becomes available and is appropriate out of respect of the lives lost and their loved ones.”
A video from the Billings Gazette showed hundreds of tractor-trailers, campers and cars backed up for miles along the two eastbound lanes of the interstate.
Before the pileup, storms popped up in south-central Montana between 1 and 2 p.m. and slowly began moving east, said Nick Vertz, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Billings.
The wind easily picked up dust and reduced visibility to less than 1/4 mile.
“If they looked up in the sky while they’re in Hardin, they probably didn’t see much of what you’d think of for a thunderstorm cloud, maybe not even much at all,” Vertz said. “It was just a surge of wind that kind of appeared out of nowhere.”