Blowing dust leads to crashes with fatalities

Excessive winds blowing dirt from nearby fields are to blame for multiple crashes along Interstate 55 in Montgomery County north of Farmersville late Monday morning.

State Police report six fatalities occurred, all in the northbound lanes. More than 30 people were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening and ages of accident victims range from two to 80.

Authorities say around 30 commercial motor vehicles and 40-60 passenger cars were involved. This includes two truck-tractor semi-trailers which caught fire due to the crashes. The interstate was shut down in both directions, from milepost 63 to milepost 80.

According to a State Police news release, a crash on northbound I-55 at milepost 76 occurred at 10:55 a.m. and there were numerous other crashes at the same time on the southbound lanes. The crashes occurred within a two-mile stretch. The information is still preliminary and ISP continues to investigate the crash.