FARMERSVILLE, Ill. — Illinois State Police on Thursday identified the final victim killed in the 72-vehicle crash during a dust storm in central Illinois earlier this month.
ISP identified 58-year-old Otto Medina-Salazar of Carthage, Missouri.
State police previously identified six other victims killed in the crash:
- Shirley Harper, 88, of Franklin, Wisconson
- Joseph Bates, 73, of Crystal Lake, Illinois
- Donna Bates, 71, of Crystal Lake, Illinois
- Earl LeGrand, 64, of Florissant, Missouri
- Michael Zinchuk, 55, of Champaign, Illinois
- Amy Zinchuk, 54, of Champaign, Illinois
Illinois State Police said that blowing dust from nearby caused "complete blackout conditions," resulting in a 72-car pileup near Farmersville in Montgomery County. Thirty-seven people were taken to local hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Nearly 45 mph winds had picked up dirt and debris from farm fields and swirled it along the interstate, blinding drivers instantly and causing a deadly chain-reaction crash.
In the days after the crash, two vacant lots in Divernon were filled with tractor-trailers, SUVs, trucks and cars. Some vehicles were untouched, but troopers with the Illinois State Police still had them towed instead of releasing them the day of the crash.
Other tractor-trailers, cars, trucks and SUVs were inoperable, either crushed, burned out or a mix of both. Even days after the pile-up and resulting fires, the vehicles left behind in the lot gave off a smell of burnt rubber and charred metal.
Forty ISP troopers and multiple units from surrounding agencies responded.
"ISP thanks all its first responder partners and sister agencies for their tremendous work and assistance during this incident," ISP said.