Drivers in I-55 crash describe chaotic, blinding scene

(WAND) — Drivers hit in the massive I-55 crash Monday described the scary moment they were caught in the deadly pileup.

"It was like a blackout basically. You couldn't even see a foot in front of you," Evan Anderson, a driver stuck in the crash, told WAND News.

"This dust storm was like driving into a white out," Dave Maclean explained.

Maclean was driving back to Chicago, after a visit with family, when he was forced to swerve off the road.

"There was a truck in front of me and I could see that they were braking hard, and I was able to drive off the road, around the accident," Maclean told WAND News.

Maclean and his wife got out of their car, and could hear more cars crashing, but were blinded by the dust.

"After awhile there was a tanker a little bit south of us that started on fire and we could hear explosions — I assume they were gas tanks exploding — so it was really pretty nasty," Maclean added.

They rushed over to help a woman trapped in her car.

"The car was stuck between two semis and the wheels of one semi was against one door and the wheels of the semi against the other door, and she was stuck behind the steering wheel, so we were able to help her get out," Maclean said.

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On the opposite side of the interstate, Evan Anderson was stuck between semis.

"I got pushed by a semi into the car in front of me and then there was a car next to me that also swerved next to me. So there was basically a rectangle of cars basically," Anderson explained.

He was on his way home to St. Louis when the dust storm hit and he crashed.

"Take assessment of yourself, and you're like 'oh I'm ok' and I hope other people are ok," Anderson added.

ISP shuttled him to the Auburn Travel Center, where the Red Cross helped him get to a motel for the night.

While both were dusty and tired, they're thankful they walked away unharmed.

Others were not so fortunate as six people traveling in the northbound lanes lost their lives in the crash.