DEADLY DUST

4 Dead After 36 Vehicle Pile-Up in ‘Brown Out’ Disaster

Visibility was “next to nothing” when the pile-up happened, an official said.

Four people were killed and 29 others were injured on Tuesday after a 36-vehicle pileup on Interstate 25 near Pueblo, Colorado, during near-zero visibility conditions caused by dirt kicked up by heavy winds, authorities said. The crash occurred around 10 a.m. during what officials described as “brown out” conditions. Maj. Brian Lyons of the Colorado State Patrol said “visibility was next to nothing” when the pile-up happened. The crash involved seven semitrailers and more than two dozen passenger vehicles. Of the 29 people hospitalized, one is in critical condition, seven are seriously injured, and 21 were treated for minor to moderate injuries, the Colorado Sun reported. Colorado non-profit the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region said a trailer carrying 30 sheep and one goat was caught up in the crash. Four sheep were killed, the organization said. “This was one of those storms that came through and the wind picked up very quickly,” Lyons said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. This weather this winter in Colorado has been unusually warm and dry.