It's been over a month since eight people died in a car pileup in Kansas. Now, authorities are finally ready to reveal the identities of those deceased souls. A dust storm caused visibility issues that led to a 71-vehicle pileup on the interstate. The incident happened on March 14.
A dust storm whipped through Goodland, Kanas. The resulting storm caused a near-zero visibility on Interstate 70. With conditions so rough, NBC affiliate KNSW reported multiple crashes on that day. That included a massive 71-vehicle pileup as well. The resulting wreckage from the dust storm was so bad that it took more than a day to clear the road.
Kansas Highway Patrol reported, "n March 14, 2025 at approximately 3:22pm (CDT), the Kansas Highway Patrol was notified of a multi-vehicle, mass casualty collision event on Interstate 70 (I-70) between mileposts 28.1 and 28.3 in eastern Sherman County, near the town of Edson. The collision area is approximately 9 miles east of Goodland, and adjacent to the Sherman County Road 30 overpass."
Pileup From Dust Storm
They continued, "Encompassing the east and westbound lanes of I-70, a total of seventy-one (71) vehicles were identified as being involved in the collision event, resulting in eight (8) fatalities and forty-six (46) injured parties transported to local hospitals. Multiple motor vehicle collision reports will be completed to document and separate the collisions that occurred within the event. Investigators believe the separate collisions occurred between the times of approximately 3:20pm - 3:35pm (CDT). Due to the extreme circumstances the exact sequence of events is currently under investigation. The information below identifies the vehicles and occupants involved in the fatal collisions."
Following the pileup, they identified the victims as Larry Smith, 72; Dawson Hogan, 20; Baiel Sharshembiev, 24; Carlos Arzate, 48; Manuel Alarcon, 57; Stephanie Percell, 61; Mario Juarez, 31; and Giovanni Stefan, 60. Additionally, several dozen people were injured in the resulting wreck.
One person involved in the pileup said the storm felt "like being on a boat." "It's like hitting a rogue wave. It just rocks the truck," said Kevin McNamara.
Sadly, the dust storm caused a massive pileup that claimed several people's lives. These families are still mourning their losses and picking up the pieces.
