Dust storm on I-10 in Arizona results in three deaths

(UPI) -- Arizona authorizes are saying that a dust storm Tuesday on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson caused multiple crashes, leaving three people dead and at least 12 injured.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials are saying that the 19-vehicle pileup -- 10 semitrailers, seven passenger cars, one recreational vehicle and one tanker -- was the result of low visibility caused by the blowing dust.

"It looks like one big event right now but in reality it’s probably a series of collisions," said DPS Capt. Brian Preston. "So you may have collisions one and two that became part of three and four."

The crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. but the interstate was still closed at 7 p.m. with a 10-mile backup in each direction. I-10 eastbound finally reopened at 7:50 p.m.

Henry Wallace stopped his truck in the area of the accident.

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

Dust storms can be unpredictable.

"It's very different than what we think of during the monsoon. In this case, a steady southwest wind created channels of dense, blowing dust. Unfortunately, one of those localized channels of dust ended up over a busy Arizona interstate," said KPHO-TV chief meteorologist Chris Dunn.