Oct 30, 2013 09:37 AM EDT
3 Killed During I-10 Crashes in Arizona, 19-Car Pileup Caused by Dust Storm

At least three people were killed on an Arizona highway after a stream of think dust caused a chain-reaction crash, according to the Associated Press.

Police confirmed that approximately 12 other people were injured during the 19-car pileup on I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson.

Crews were forced to work well past sunset to try prying apart 10 commercial vehicles, seven passenger cars, one recreational vehicle, and one tanker, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

"One truck hit another truck. Cars start piling into each other, and they pushed that one truck right into me and off to the side of the road," Henry Wallace said to KPHO-TV. "I couldn't see anything because the (dust) was so thick, but I could just hear it, 'Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.'"

Medical helicopters were seen airlifting several of the injured people to hospitals located in Phoenix and Tucson. At least one person was in critical condition, according to the Associated Press.

The National Weather Service had issued a blowing dust advisory shortly before the crashes, and wind gusts of up to 30 mph was predicted for that area.

"That area of I-10 is historically known for these blowing dust storms that come through," Cook added. "At the time of this crash, there were reports that there was zero visibility in the road, and with these dynamic systems that come through so quickly, people are often surprised by it."

Certain sections of 1-10 were closed off for over five hours, according to the Associated Press.

DPS spokesman Bart Graves called the incidents one of the worst chain-reaction crashes in that area in the last seven years.

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