'Near apocalyptic' dust storm causes 27-vehicle pileup, killing lorry driver and leaving several others fighting for their lives
Blinded by dust as the storm tore across Interstate 80, vehicles began ploughing into each other, dramatically stretching limited emergency resources in sparsely populated Humboldt County, Nevada
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A “near apocalyptic” dust storm has caused a 27-vehicle pileup in rural Nevada, killing a lorry driver and leaving several other people fighting for their life.
Blinded by dust as the storm tore across Interstate 80, vehicles began ploughing into each other at around 5pm on Monday, dramatically stretching limited emergency resources in sparsely populated Humboldt County.
Officials at Humboldt General Hospital said drivers reported “near apocalyptic” conditions during the pile-up, which shut down a major trucking route in both directions for over 19 hours.
Humboldt County sheriff's dispatchers called in virtually every medical, law enforcement and fire worker in the area, with a mine rescue crew pitching in to help, and a charter bus company, Coach America, sending a vehicle to transport victims to hospital in an effort to lighten the load on limited ambulance services in nearby Winnemucca.
Chicago resident Ravi Dyer was killed when his lorry rear-ended another commercial vehicle in zero-visibility conditions, according to Nevada’s Highway Patrol. Two other lorries then ploughed into the 51-year-old from behind, seriously injuring his passenger.
Humboldt General Hospital spokeswoman Nicole Maher said 26 people were treated at the hospital, including three in critical condition who were later transferred to a hospital in much-larger Reno, about 160 miles away.
High winds whipped up dust — possibly loose from recently cleared fields — and created whiteout-like conditions, authorities said. Vehicles, including semitrailers, passenger cars and a tow truck piled up in both directions.
Images from the scene showed crunched-up vehicles, at least one overturned SUV, and damaged big rigs with their loads spilling onto the road.
Maher said took almost four hours to release one person from a vehicle, with traffic still being diverted more than 12 hours later.
Incident Commander Ken Whittaker praised officials from Humboldt County who brought in water trucks to break-up the dust, allowing emergency crews to reach and rescue the victims.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments