Four people are dead and two others are in critical condition after a chain-reaction crash involving 12 vehicles on an Arizona highway on Saturday afternoon, possibly caused by blowing dust, the authorities said.
The crash, which happened on Interstate 10, more than 50 miles west of Phoenix, involved six commercial motor vehicles, four passenger vehicles, a van and a recreational vehicle towing a trailer, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Investigators with the Arizona Highway Patrol believe there was an initial crash followed by several others. Several vehicles caught fire.
On Sunday, the Department of Public Safety said that two people remained in critical condition and one person was receiving precautionary care at a hospital. Five other people were treated and discharged. The names of the victims were not immediately made public.
On Saturday, a large section of southern Arizona, a desert region, was under wind and blowing dust advisories, but the area where the crash happened was not under a blowing dust advisory, said Mark O’Malley, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Phoenix.
Wind speeds in the area of the crash were about 20 to 25 miles per hour at the time, he said, and conditions were otherwise clear.
Still, investigators are looking into whether reduced visibility caused by blowing dust was a “significant factor” in the crash, the department said.
Both eastbound and westbound lanes on Interstate 10 were shut for hours into Sunday morning, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
A lot of that traffic was rerouted just outside of the home of Dave Dyrcz, who is a resident of Tonopah, Ariz., about 14 miles from where the crash happened.
He said that I-10 is “famous for really bad wind,” which may have caused some dust to blow over the road. But, he added, the interstate is “torn up really bad,” and that the speed limit has been lowered because of the road’s condition and potholes.
The Department of Public Safety said that the investigation would be “extensive and detailed” and could take some time.
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