Four people were killed and multiple people were injured in crashes across Oklahoma and Texas as a powerful dust storm fueled by 60-85 mph wind gusts dropped visibility to near zero along highways and interstates on Friday afternoon.
Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Cindy Barkley told FOX Weather that four people were killed in multiple crashes, two in Palmer County and two in Gray County, due to the high wind and low visibility from the blowing dirt.
Several people were also injured, including two paramedics, after a multi-vehicle crash involved an ambulance amid the intense dust storm near Blackwell, Oklahoma.
That crash happened about 1:30 p.m. as Newkirk’s Ambulance 56 was returning from a hospital in Blackwell and ran into zero visibility conditions along Highway 11 in Doolin, according to Newkirk Fire Department and EMS.
Two medics inside the ambulance were injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries was not given. Two others involved in the crash were also injured and transported, Newkirk Fire officials said.
Officials didn’t say exactly what led up to the crash or how many vehicles were involved. Highway 11 remained closed into Friday evening due to zero visibility.
Six others were injured in another multi-vehicle crash along Interstate 35 in nearby Blackwell, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Winds have been blistering across the region, with gusts in western Texas reaching 87 mph in Pine Springs, 83 mph in Amarillo and 81 mph in Lubbock.
“AVOID MOST TRAVEL AT THIS TIME!” the National Weather Service office in Midland, Texas posted on X. “Many roads across Southeast New Mexico and the Permian Basin have areas of near-zero visibility, and several vehicle accidents have been reported across the region.”
Across the northern border in Oklahoma, gusts reached 83 mph in Frederick and Hobart, 74 mph in Stillwater, 71 mph in Oklahoma City and 68 mph in Tulsa,
“We’ve gotten numerous reports of accidents caused by the high winds today,” NWS Norman said.
Dust storms have been sweeping across the region as part of a powerful storm that threatened more than 150 million people with severe weather into Saturday.
