21 vehicles crashed due to dust storm and 6 people died

(CNN) — Six people were killed in a 21-vehicle crash Friday night on Interstate 90 in Montana’s Big Horn County due to a dust storm, the Montana Highway Patrol said.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said first responders are investigating the crash west of Hardin and will release more information as it becomes available.

“This investigation is still ongoing. We will release additional information as it becomes available and appropriate out of respect for the lives lost and their loved ones,” Knudsen said.

Dust storm kills 21 near Hardin, kills six on I-90

Travel on the interstate was diverted overnight, but I-90 has since reopened, the Highway Patrol said.

“Deeply saddened by the news of a major crash near Hardin. Please join me in prayer to honor the victims and their loved ones. We are grateful to our first responders for their service,” Gov. Greg Jeanfort tweeted Friday.

Ariel Dehart was driving west on I-90 near Hardin when she saw a mobile home destroyed in the crash.

It happened within minutes of the crash, DeHart told CNN. There were only a few first responders on the scene at the time, he said.

“The choice was really bad and scary,” DeHart said. “The air was hot and creepy. It was like wearing sepia glasses. It was so crazy.”

“When I saw the torn-up RV, my stomach just dropped,” he said. “But the owner was frantically putting his decorative pillows back in the RV and he was very sad because he was obviously very upset about what had happened.”

Jose Strickland also witnessed many accidents. He told CNN he skidded to a stop when the crash happened in front of him on I-90.

Strickland says he and others helped get an elderly man out of his vehicle on a stretcher and into an ambulance.

For about 45 minutes after the crash, Strickland says he was behind helping people at the scene.

“Visibility dropped in an instant,” Strickland wrote in a Facebook post about his experience. “I still can’t get over the fact that we were 1 vehicle away from disaster.”

CNN’s Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.