by Tyler Durden
Monday, Jul 26, 2021 - 08:15 PM
A freak sandstorm two hours south of Salt Lake City caused a deadly 22-vehicle pileup on Sunday, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS).
The accident occurred on Interstate 15 in Millard County on Sunday afternoon. Twenty-two vehicles were involved in the crash after high winds caused a sand or dust storm and impaired visibility on the roadway, said DPS.
The series of crashes resulted in seven deaths and ten others injured, DPS said, adding that some children were among the deaths. The Utah Highway Patrol summoned troopers from Richfield and Beaver to assist, DPS said. Multiple ground and air ambulances also responded to transport victims.
Sandstorm-caused Utah highway wreck kills 8, half of them children
By Keith Coffman
Reuters
(Reuters) -Eight people were killed, four of them children, in a 22-vehicle pileup along a west-central Utah highway over the weekend when motorists were blinded by a wind-whipped dust storm, police said on Monday.
Ten injured survivors were transported to area hospitals, three of them in critical condition, authorities said.
The chain-reaction crashes occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time on Sunday on Interstate 15 in Millard County, and the eight fatalities were in three separate vehicles, the Utah Highway Patrol said in a statement.
The dead included a 15-year-old from Arizona who was a passenger in a Cadillac, as well as three younger children from Utah - aged 12, 6 and 2 - who were killed along with two adult members of their family in a separate car, police said. Another couple from Utah died in a third automobile.
At least 7 killed in 20-car pileup in Utah during sandstorm
July 26, 2021, 4:43 AM
This photo provided by the Utah Highway Patrol and posted on the Utah Department of Public Safety website shows the scene of a fatal pileup, Sunday, July 25, 2021, on Interstate 15 in Millard County, near the town of Kanosh, Utah. (Utah Highway Patrol via AP)
KANOSH, Utah (AP) At least seven people were killed in a 20-vehicle pileup crash during a sandstorm Sunday afternoon, Utah Highway Patrol said.
The crashes happened on Interstate 15 near the town of Kanosh, according to a news release. Several people were reportedly taken to hospitals in critical condition. Ground and air ambulances were used to transport crash victims.
UHP officials said that, at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, dust blanked I-15 between Meadow and Kanosh in Millard County leading up to a chain reaction of crashes.
The National Weather Service points out that dust storms and haboobs happen from outflow winds in a thunderstorm that pick up dirt and dust in an area. They can end up miles long in length and thousands of feet in height and can begin so quickly that it can be difficult to warn ahead of time, according to the agency. Most last only a few minutes, but one of the biggest concerns is that the blinding weather phenomenon can pass over a busy roadway and make it impossible for motorists to see, such as what reportedly happened Sunday.
KSL TV
4PM: 4 children, 4 adults killed in Millard County sandstorm crash
KSL TV
Five of the eight people who died were in the same vehicle, two were in another vehicle, and one fatality was from a third vehicle, the Utah Highway Patrol said Monday. Four of the people who were killed were adults and four were under age 15.
The five people in the same vehicle were identified Monday as Riggins Sawyer, 6; Franki Sawyer, 2; Kortni Sawyer, 30, all residents of St. George; Race Sawyer, 37, and his son Ryder Sawyer, 12, both residents of Lehi. Race Sawyer was also identified as Kortni Sawyer s brother-in-law, according to the UHP.