Powerful winds kicked up a sudden and harmful swirling dust storm Tuesday, inflicting a 10-vehicle pileup that killed a driver on U.S. Highway 54 in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
The blowing grime and dust turned so thick that officers mentioned it quickly lowered visibility to “near-zero conditions” for motorists close to Goodwell, about an hour north of Amarillo, Texas.
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The Oklahoma Highway Patrol mentioned the chain-reaction crash occurred round 11:30 a.m. native time when a automotive struck a car that had stopped on the freeway due to an earlier accident. That second crash, in flip, triggered a number of collisions involving 5 tractor-trailer vehicles and 5 vehicles that had been unable to cease in time, police mentioned.
Authorities mentioned one driver, recognized as Scott D. Morrell, 69, of Tyrone, was taken to the hospital, the place he died from his accidents. Police mentioned he was touring too quick for the situations.
U.S. 54 was shut down for miles beginning southwest of Goodwell and up towards Optima.
| One of the ten autos concerned in the pileup alongside U.S. Highway 54 on Tuesday morning close to Goodwell, Okla. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Highway Patrol |
The Texas County Sheriff’s Department mentioned the “hurricane of dust” produced “near-zero visibility” situations, as seen in a video shot from a police vehicle heading to the crash scene. The footage, shot by Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Brown as he and an officer adopted an ambulance to the scene, reveals thick clouds of dust enveloping the freeway. In a separate video, the Sheriff’s Department shot footage of the next wreckage as soon as on the scene. Mangled autos and blown tires will be seen alongside the freeway after the dust dissipated.
Wind gusts of up to 78 mph were reported in the panhandle, in accordance to the National Weather Service in Norman, which earlier had alerted drivers to anticipate lowered visibility of about 1 mile. The Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation additionally issued warnings to drivers in the world. “The high winds are affecting driving conditions in the panhandle. It’s kicking up the dirt so much that visibility is very low,” the Highway Patrol posted on social media.
The closed part of US 54 was reopened round 3 p.m. native time.
| A closeup of the mangled vehicles and vehicles concerned in the 10-vehicle pileup alongside U.S. Highway 54 on Tuesday close to Goodwell in Oklahoma’s Panhandle. Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Highway Patrol |
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