AZ I-10 Closed E & W. Dust Storm, Pileup Crashes

[ATeam]

I-10 in Arizona is closed now, 18:00 local time, due to two pileups between Eloy and Phoenix. A dust storm suddenly reduced visibility to zero (or minimial, depending on the report) and crashes followed. Serious injuries and at least one fatality are reported.

Road closed westbound at MM 176
Road closed westbound and eastbound from MM 211 to MM 219.

News story with photo here

Weather continues to be unsettled in the area. Be careful if you are here. Diane and I were driving in Phoenix today when winds instantly whipped up dust and reduced visibility to about 1/4 mile. There would not be much you could do of visibility was instantly reduced to zero. I was surprised by how quickly the dust came. We have seen this speedy reduction in visibility in a snow white out but never with dust.

UPDATE: The road is now open at MM 176. Remains closed in both directions between MM 211 and MM 219.

 

[layoutshooter]

I-10 in Arizona is closed now, 18:00 local time, due to two pileups. A dust storm suddenly reduced visibility to zero and crashes followed. Serious injuries and at least one fatality are reported.

Road closed westbound at MM 176
Road closed westbound and east bound from MM 211 to MM 219.

News story with photo here

Weather continues to be unsettled in the area. Be careful if you are here.

Keep your head down.

 

[Bruno]

Thanks for the post Phil. I hope your not out there is the mess in AZ.

 

[ATeam]

Diane and were in Phoenix yesterday and not near the crash sites. When running errands in town we got caught in a dust cloud that the wind whipped up without warning. It reduced visibility but not to zero. Traffic slowed. The dust cleared as fast as it came. There were no wrecks.

As I said above, I have never seen dust reduce visibility so suddenly before. Having seen it, it is now easy to understand how those crashes happened. It was not like fog where you have time to slow down. This was instant.

Raw video of the storm and one of the crash sites is available here on YouTube. The vantage point from the helicopter is different from what motorists saw on the ground.

It brings home the point once again that we are in a business in which your day and life may be going well, and then in an instant and without warning, a catastrophic event may occur.

Be always alert and always safe. When we are on the road, we are never more than the very next instant from a life-changing or life-ending event.

I called AZ511 this morning for an update. I-10 is open both ways but the right lane is blocked, presumably for crash cleanup, westbound between MM 219 to MM 211.