Iowa City man dies in 20 car pileup in Arizona

(AP) - An Iowa City man was among three people killed Tuesday in a series of fiery crashes caused by thick, blowing dust on Interstate 10 when his vehicle was rear-ended by his father's truck.

Edgar Ivan Medina Vargas of Iowa City had slowed suddenly because of the dust storm, and his pickup was struck from behind by his father's large semi-trailer truck, said Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves. The Arizona Republic reported Vargas's pickup was then crushed by two other semis.

Also killed in crashes were a brother and sister in a Jeep, Mark and Katie Eide of Casa Grande. He was 14 and she was 17, Graves said.

The midday I-10 wrecks, about 40 miles south of Phoenix near Casa Grande, left the eastbound lanes littered with the smoldering remains of several big rigs, passenger cars and vans. Both directions of the freeway connecting Tucson to Phoenix were closed for hours as crews freed the injured and dead from the tangled wreckage.

The crashes near Casa Grande and a second set a dozen miles further south near Pichaco were triggered by dust kicked up from nearby farm fields. Dust and thick gray smoke from burning vehicles billowed across the flat sprawl of farms and desert.

In all, 22 vehicles were involved in the crashes, including nine commercial trucks. Five people were severely hurt and nine suffered lesser injuries requiring hospital trips.

The westbound lanes of I-10 were reopened by midafternoon, but state engineers will need to inspect the eastbound lanes before allowing traffic to resume, said Officer Robert Bailey, a Department of Public Safety spokesman. “ADOT engineers have to get out there and examine the pavement and see if it's OK to be driven on after these fires,” Bailey said.

Also Tuesday, dozens of cars and trucks were involved in collisions or slid off the highway along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, as snow began falling Tuesday afternoon. A stretch of the highway between Williams and Ash Fork was closed intermittently. Snowy and slippery conditions were also reported on I-17 north of Sedona.

(AP) - An Iowa City man was among three people killed Tuesday in a series of fiery crashes caused by thick, blowing dust on Interstate 10 when his vehicle was rear-ended by his father's truck.

---- Edgar Ivan Medina Vargas of Iowa City had slowed suddenly because of the dust storm, and his pickup was struck from behind by his father's large semi-trailer truck, said Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves. The Arizona Republic reported Vargas's pickup was then crushed by two other semis.

---- Also killed in crashes were a brother and sister in a Jeep, Mark and Katie Eide of Casa Grande. He was 14 and she was 17, Graves said.

---- The midday I-10 wrecks, about 40 miles south of Phoenix near Casa Grande, left the eastbound lanes littered with the smoldering remains of several big rigs, passenger cars and vans. Both directions of the freeway connecting Tucson to Phoenix were closed for hours as crews freed the injured and dead from the tangled wreckage.

---- The crashes near Casa Grande and a second set a dozen miles further south near Pichaco were triggered by dust kicked up from nearby farm fields. Dust and thick gray smoke from burning vehicles billowed across the flat sprawl of farms and desert.

---- In all, 22 vehicles were involved in the crashes, including nine commercial trucks. Five people were severely hurt and nine suffered lesser injuries requiring hospital trips.

---- The westbound lanes of I-10 were reopened by midafternoon, but state engineers will need to inspect the eastbound lanes before allowing traffic to resume, said Officer Robert Bailey, a Department of Public Safety spokesman. “ADOT engineers have to get out there and examine the pavement and see if it's OK to be driven on after these fires,” Bailey said.

---- Also Tuesday, dozens of cars and trucks were involved in collisions or slid off the highway along Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff, as snow began falling Tuesday afternoon. A stretch of the highway between Williams and Ash Fork was closed intermittently. Snowy and slippery conditions were also reported on I-17 north of Sedona.