GOODLAND, Kan. (KSNW) — At least eight people are dead after a 71-vehicle pileup on Interstate 70 in Kansas during a dust storm on Friday.
It took coordinated efforts from nearly every surrounding town and county more than 24 hours to reopen the highway in both directions between Colby and Goodland, about 20 miles from the Colorado border.
Authorities were first notified of the crash around 3:20 p.m. when traffic began to slow with near-zero visibility, resulting in multiple crashes. The KHP counted 71 vehicles involved.
Goodland Fire Chief Brian James said that first responders had to tend to more than 30 patients and make rapid, life-or-death decisions despite poor visibility caused by high winds and blowing dirt.
Responding authorities say that the incident will stay with them for a long time to come.
“I’ve seen it before, but this is probably the worst I’ve ever seen,” Trooper Tod Hileman with Kansas Highway Patrol said.
Just behind the wall of dust from Friday’s storms was the wreckage of sedans, SUVs, and semi-trucks.
“It’s more or less like being on a boat,” truck driver Kevin McNamara said about driving in the storm. “If [the wind] is from the side, it’s like hitting a rogue wave. It just rocks the truck.”
With visibility near zero in the Goodland area Friday, some, like McNamara, just narrowly avoided the crash.
“I didn’t really get to drive through it. It was more or less I drove up on it,” he said. “After I was safely stopped … I grabbed my CB and started yelling, ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!'”
McNamara compared the dust storm to driving in whiteout conditions. Nearly all of Kansas was experiencing similar conditions on Friday, stretching first responders’ resources thin and necessitating mutual aid.
“We certainly couldn’t handle it all by ourselves. Not one fire department can handle it, not just one EMS,” Hileman said.
Getting a call with so many injuries, Hileman said, is the thing he dreads the most.
“These things stay with us for the rest of our lives. But it’s our job. We signed up for it. We try to do it with as much empathy and professionalism as we can. But I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t affect us to see that kind of stuff,” Hileman explained.
Details about those who were killed and injured were not immediately available Sunday morning.
A phone line dedicated to the family and loved ones of victims has been opened. It’s a priority number, meant to answer their questions as quickly as possible. If you are a family member or loved one and have questions, dial 785-827-4437.
Nationwide, at least 35 people died this weekend as a massive storm swept across the U.S. As of Sunday afternoon, the death tolls had reached three in Alabama, 12 in Missouri, six in Mississippi, and three in Arkansas — all states that were battered by tornadoes. Three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, Texas, authorities said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
