# Eight fatalities, multiple injuries in 71-vehicle accident on Kansas interstate
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 16, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637 "2025-03-16T01:45:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/1 "2025-03-16T01:45:56Z")
Winds blowing over 80 mph created near-blackout conditions on I-70 in western Kansas, causing a massive pileup involving 71 cars and trucks. Eight people died and there were at least 55 injured. The highway was closed for about 24 hours before re-opening this afternoon.
> He said ambulance transport was overwhelmed, so emergency crews adapted, using fire department support vehicles and even patrol cars from the Goodland Police Department, Sherman County Sheriff’s Office, and Kansas Highway Patrol to transport the injured to hospitals in Goodland and Colby.
[https://www.ksn.com/news/multi-vehicle-crash-closes-i-70-near-goodland-multiple-fatalities-reported/](https://www.ksn.com/news/multi-vehicle-crash-closes-i-70-near-goodland-multiple-fatalities-reported/)
> **[Eight confirmed dead, 71 vehicles involved in multi-vehicle pileup on I-70 in...](https://www.kake.com/multi-vehicle-pileup-forces-extended-closure-of-i-70-between-goodland-and-colby/article_a492f11a-01bf-11f0-b889-9bedf76c7b48.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJC-QdleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcMmjRkL-JRM4ZL1JQyih33HH4oq4afhqU1CbwT1ZW7h0prusv6m_GCysQ_aem_MkUhnG3JqnXnyytCTeBSMg)**
>
> KanDrive reports that I-70 remains closed between Goodland and Colby due to a crash involving 55 vehicles that occurred just of Edson Friday afternoon. It is unknown at this time
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/2 "2025-03-16T02:39:06Z")
Wow! The bigger picture in the article looks like it might be (2) F-150’s and the cab of the white one is crushed. There’s probably no stopping it once it starts.
I was once in a heavy rain that reduced visibility to only seeing the brake lights of the car in front of me. Not the car, just the brake lights. Somehow an entire line of traffic in 2 lanes collectively slowed down at the same rate and nobody collided. I didn’t appreciate how lucky I was at the time.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2025, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/3 "2025-03-16T02:48:25Z")
Yeah. One crunch & the rest of the chain resction becomes inevitable. The pnly question after that is how big / bad it gets.
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### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [March 16, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/4 "2025-03-16T17:28:56Z")
I was once in a chain collision near Chicago. I was in the left lane alongside the center divider when the semis in front of me began crashing into each other. I was far enough back that I stopped in time and no one hit me from behind. Then the front edge of the crash propagated to the vehicles to the right of me. One by one they (mostly semis) hit each other and the crash stacked up until it was well behind me.
I was in a sea of green diesel fuel. There were only one or two vehicles behind me so we backed up until we got behind the crashed vehicles then pulled into the right lane and finally merged into the next lane to bypass the scene. I kept expecting the fuel to catch fire but it didn’t.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/5 "2025-03-17T15:23:28Z")
That sounds like it was horrible. As a motorcycle rider, fog, smoke and blowing dust can be terrifying. At least in a car you have some protection, although in this instance, not enough.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2025, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/6 "2025-03-18T03:34:19Z")
Too many people tailgate even in good conditions.
I do like the FD utility vehicle (pickup) with the keep back 343’; wouldn’t expect to see that in KS but a very cool show of solidarity with their big city brethren!
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2025, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/7 "2025-03-18T03:40:26Z")
My wife and I drove through a serious dust storm in the Four Corners area last summer. If you look closely, you can just barely see her tails lights in front of me:
[ ](https://imgur.com/dHwIY5D)
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### Author:  [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/8 "2025-03-18T13:00:53Z")
> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> wouldn’t expect to see that in KS
You know, even out here in the sticks we watch the news and know what’s going on in the big cities.
I know you meant your comment as a compliment, but continually being portrayed as backwater hicks does get a bit tiresome.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/9 "2025-03-18T14:57:42Z")
I didn’t mean it that way. I’ve never seen that on any apparatus before, even something in the NYC vicinity (where I am a lot) & I’m a bit surprised that they’re recognizing a dept that I assume thay have no direct connection to that’s literally half a country, 1500 miles away.
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### Author:  [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/10 "2025-03-18T18:28:10Z")
Fair enough. I have seen that on a few FD vehicles in various parts of the country.
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### Author:  [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/11 "2025-03-19T00:27:38Z")
> [@Spiderman](#):
>
> wouldn’t expect to see that in KS
"You know, even out here in the sticks we watch the news and know what’s going on in the big cities.
I know you meant your comment as a compliment, but continually being portrayed as backwater hicks does get a bit tiresome."
That damn quote from Wizard of OZ doesn’t help. I wonder how many times it has been uttered?
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/12 "2025-03-19T15:49:54Z")
The worst accident I had to deal with was 34 cars on black ice. Couldn’t even walk on it until the salt truck came through. Luckily speeds weren’t high and I don’t remember any injuries. Unluckily I had to do the paperwork.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/13 "2025-03-19T16:48:14Z")
I couldn’t tell from the article - what were the blackout conditions from? Dust? Rain?
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### Author:  [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/14 "2025-03-19T16:56:50Z")
It was a dust storm.
> **[Massive 55+ vehicle pile up in dust storm closes I70](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rj5rScYy-c%2F)**
>
> Goodland Fire Chief Brian James: “Fighting the wind with dirt so bad you can’t see over 50 to 100 feet, and trying to keep my crews and myself safe was just ...
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/15 "2025-03-19T18:36:24Z")
> [@mixdenny](#):
>
> I kept expecting the fuel to catch fire but it didn’t.
Diesel is hard to ignite.
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### Author:  [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)
#### Post date: [March 19, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eight-fatalities-multiple-injuries-in-71-vehicle-accident-on-kansas-interstate/1015637/16 "2025-03-19T19:32:53Z")
True, but even gasoline doesn’t ignite at very many car accidents. With the exception of the '70s Ford Pinto, gas tanks are somewhat protected so they don’t automatically rupture at every car accident & even if one of those cars _did_ rupture it’s tank, the wind bringing all that dust is helping to disapate the fumes