Sandstorm causes deadly L.A. highway pileup

updated 7:33 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2007

LANCASTER, Calif. - A blinding sandstorm caught dozens of vehicles in a highway pileup Tuesday in the high desert north of Los Angeles, killing at least two people and injuring 16, authorities said.

Two victims were in critical condition after the crash that left vehicles scattered across the highway, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.

The crash was reported around 1:40 p.m. during a sandstorm whipped by winds gusting up to 55 mph, the National Weather Service said.

“Everybody just came to an abrupt stop. There were people that were speeding and unfortunately I don’t know if they made it through or not,” Anthony Valdez Pino told KCAL-TV. “I had lost sight of them.”

He said he heard brakes screeching all around him.

“I’ve never seen dust like that,” said Pino, who said he drives through the area daily. “I’ve lived out here most of my life and I’ve never seen dust that thick like that before.”

The accident happened just west of Edwards Air Force Base at the northern edge of Los Angeles County, not far from the site of a fiery truck pileup Friday night in a tunnel on the Interstate 5 freeway.

The cause of that crash, which killed three people and injured 10, is still under investigation.

Scene of accident
Tuesday’s crash left big rigs and passenger cars strewn and bent on the pavement and dirt center divider, according to TV helicopter images.

The weather service issued a dust storm warning for the area Tuesday afternoon, cautioning that blowing dust in the region could reduce visibility to near zero.

“It’s not unheard of for the area to experience a dust storm, but it’s not an everyday type of thing,” said meteorologist Jaime Meier in the weather service’s Oxnard office.

Like the rest of California, the Antelope Valley has been bone-dry this year, receiving less than two inches of rain. The dryness means dirt and sand are not packed down in the ground and are more likely to swirl in the face of strong winds.

“It’s just loose and is able to impact visibility just the same way as a blizzard,” Meier said.

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