Two kids among six dead in tragic 21-car Montana dust storm pileup
Six people are dead in a Montana highway pileup Friday that may have been caused by a dust storm.
Two children were among the six people killed when a dust storm swept into Montana.
The accident is said to be “one of the most intense multi-vehicle accidents” in the state’s history.
Around 4:30 p.m., a collision involving 21 automobiles occurred on Interstate 90, about 45 miles east of Billings.
According to police and meteorologists, a strong thunderstorm was surpassed on Friday by a "outflow" surge of wind.
The highway is a major route in both Montana and the Western U.S.
According to Sgt. Jay Nelson of the Montana Highway Patrol, investigators have not yet discovered any further circumstances that may have caused the pileup that injured eight other people.
“Everything is indicative of an isolated extreme weather event,” Nelson said. “What could people do? It really was just panic.”
“In my 24 years of experience, this is one of the most intense multi-vehicle accidents we’ve had in the state of Montana,” Nelson said.