6 dead, including 2 kids, after dust storm causes major pileup on Montana interstate

HARDIN, Mont. — Six people died after a dust storm caused a large crash on a Montana interstate on Friday, authorities said.

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Winds topping 60 mph were responsible for whipping up the dust storm, which caused 21 vehicles to crash, including six semi trucks, KULR-TV reported.

Update 2:42 p.m. EDT July 16: Two children are among the six people who died in a Montana pileup on Interstate 90, authorities told The Associated Press.

Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Jay Nelson said investigators added that eight people were hospitalized due to injuries.

“Everything is indicative of an isolated extreme weather event,” Nelson said, calling the crash the worst he had seen in his 24 years with the department. “What could people do? It really was just panic.”

Original report: The crash occurred at about 4:30 p.m. MDT on Interstate 90 west of Hardin, about 50 miles east of Billings, The New York Times reported.

“Everything is indicating there was an isolated weather event that caused near-blackout conditions at this location,” Sgt. Jay Nelson, a spokesman for the Montana Highway Patrol, told the newspaper. “A dust storm in the area with extremely high winds is the preliminary cause of the crash.”

The highway patrol did not immediately know the number of people injured, but Nelson said more ambulances from Billings had to be called to the scene, according to The Associated Press.

In a tweet, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he was “deeply saddened,” calling the pileup “a mass casualty.”

“Please join me in prayer to lift up the victims and their loved ones,” Gianforte tweeted. “We’re grateful to our first responders for their service.”

Visibility near the crash site was low, witnesses said.

“As we got closer into the dust storm, you could start seeing the vehicles in the ditch,” Landa Uffelman told KRTV. “There was a camper, the whole side of it was blown off, the top was off of it. Front ends of vehicles were smashed in.”

Thunderstorms in the area produced strong winds, known as outflow, which travel approximately 30 miles ahead of the storms, Nick Vertz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Billings, told the Times.

Late in the afternoon, there were wind gusts of 62 mph that picked up dust and reduced visibility to less than a quarter of a mile, Vertz told the newspaper.

“We couldn’t even see like 10 feet in front of us so we immediately hit our brakes,” Tom Howe told KTRV. “On both sides, there were cars braked and stopped, and then I saw a van that was just pancaked into the back of a semi. And then behind it, there were about 20-30 vehicles that were piling up on each other.”

“My prayers are with everyone affected by the tragic events during the dust storm in Big Horn County today,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote in a Facebook post. “The Montana Highway Patrol is on the scene with other first responders and investigating the incident. We will release more information as it becomes available and is appropriate out of respect of the lives lost and their loved ones.”

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