8 including children dead following 22-car pileup on Utah interstate

FILLMORE, Utah (KKTV) - At least eight people including children were killed Sunday when a sandstorm overtook a Utah interstate, causing a 22-vehicle pileup.

“We have vehicles all over. Several vehicles tried to swerve off the roadway. We have vehicles that are flipped up on their sides,” Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Rhoden told CBS Salt Lake City. “One of the vehicles that was pulling a trailer, the trailer has pretty much completely been destroyed and is on the freeway.”

The eight victim was announced Monday morning. Ten people were also reported injured.

Utah Highway Patrol says drivers were briefly blinded as dust or sand blew over the interstate, triggering the deadly chain of collisions.

Five of the people killed were traveling in the same vehicle, CBS Salt Lake City reports.

“I can’t remember in recent memory of [a crash] being this large, with this many vehicles and this many fatalities,” Rhoden told the station.

The pileup happened south of the town of Fillmore, which is about two hours southwest of Salt Lake City.

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