Two killed in sandstorm pile-up

At least two people were killed when a blinding sandstorm surprised motorists in the desert north of Los Angeles.

Two of the 16 people injured were in a critical condition after the crash that left vehicles scattered across Highway 14.

About 15 vehicles were involved in three separate collisions. The cause of the crashes is under investigation, but a highway officer said poor visibility and high winds “didn’t help matters at all”.

A family of 11 visiting from Fortaleza, Brazil, who were on their way to Las Vegas, were in a van that crashed. Nine of them were injured and taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with broken arms, legs and lacerations.

Fernando Amaral Pontes, 46, said, sobbing: “All my family was in this van, all 11.”

Markan Rios, a passenger in the van, said: “I couldn’t see anything, it was too much and too quick. I was coming in and I saw the sand and we slowed down but the truck in front of us had stalled and we couldn’t stop.”

Anthony Valdespino, who drives through the area daily, said “everybody just came to an abrupt stop. There were people that were speeding and unfortunately I don’t know if they made it through or not”.

Mr Valdespino recalled the sound of brakes screeching all around him.

“I’ve never seen dust like that,” he said. “I’ve lived out here most of my life and I’ve never seen dust that thick like that before.”

The accident happened just west of Edwards Air Force Base and at the northern edge of Los Angeles County.

The crash left big trucks and passenger cars scattered and bent. Tow truck crews loaded mangled cars and vans on to flatbeds, including a van that appeared to have no back end.

The contents of a Sears delivery van lay scattered across lanes of the freeway as fierce winds continued to blow.

Police were investigating whether two other fatal collisions, which happened 20 miles north and two hours before the pile-up, were caused by strong winds.

Meteorologist Jaime Meier, from the weather service’s Oxnard office, said: “It’s not unheard of for the area to experience a dust storm, but it’s not an everyday type of thing.”

Like the rest of California, the Antelope Valley has been bone-dry this year, receiving less than two inches of rain. The dryness means dirt and sand are not packed down in the ground and are more likely to swirl in the face of strong winds.