A thick dust storm moving across Interstate 10 near Casa Grande on Tuesday caused a fiery 22-vehicle pileup that left three people dead, including two siblings. At least seven people were injured.
The crash, which happened just before 11 a.m., left burned-out vehicles strewn across lanes of traffic and closed a long stretch of eastbound I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix for about nine hours.
Killed in the crash were siblings Mark and Katie Eide of Casa Grande, who were driving to the Dairy Queen at Picacho Peak. Mark was 14; Katie was 17, said Officer Robert Lee Bailey, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman.
Also killed was Edgar Ivan Medina Vargas, 25, of Iowa City, Iowa, who slowed suddenly due to the dust storm and was struck from behind by his father's semi-truck, Bailey said.
The semi-truck pushed Medina's pickup into a stopped tractor-trailer rig ahead of him.
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Of the 22 vehicles involved, nine were commercial trucks. Several of the vehicles burst into flames.
Five people were flown to Phoenix-area hospitals with serious injuries. Two more were taken by ambulances.
The crash shut down nearly 30 miles of I-10 northwest of Tucson for hours, with the westbound lanes reopening at about 2:15 p.m. and the eastbound lanes reopening at about 8 p.m.
A second multi-vehicle crash, on westbound I-10 just north of Picacho Peak, occurred around 1 p.m. No injuries resulted from that wreck, Bailey said.
Snow in Northern Arizona caused at least 20 collisions by midday. By late afternoon more than 50 vehicles had slid off Interstate 40, outside of Williams, and off Interstate 17, south of Flagstaff, the DPS said.
It was unknown how many people were injured and how many vehicles were involved in crashes, said Harold A. Sanders , a DPS spokesman.
The strong winds in the Tucson area will calm by today as the storm passes through, bringing snow in mountain areas and rain in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service.
The snow level was expected to drop to about 5,000 feet by this morning. Up to 3 inches of snow was possible by this morning above 6,000 feet.
Widespread freezing temperatures are forecast for tonight into Thursday morning in the Tucson area, according to the weather service.
It will dry out but remain cool through Christmas.
On StarNet: Check azstarnet.com this morning for the latest on weather and road conditions.
Contact reporter Stephen Ceasar at 573-4142 or sceasar@azstarnet.com
