Blinding Calif. Sandstorm Causes Pileup, Kills 2*

Wednesday October 17, 2007 2:46 AM

LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) - A blinding sandstorm that caught drivers by
surprise caused a pileup Tuesday on a highway in the high desert north
of Los Angeles, killing at least two people and injuring 16, authorities
said.

Two victims were in critical condition after the crash that left at
least a dozen vehicles scattered across the highway, Los Angeles County
Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.

The crash was reported around 1:40 p.m. during a sandstorm whipped by
winds gusting up to 55 mph, the National Weather Service said.

Eight vehicles and four big rigs were involved in the pileup, fire
officials said.

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

``All my family was in this van, all 11,'' 46-year-old Fernando Amaral
Pontes said, sobbing.

Markan Rios, who was in the van, was visibly shaken as he waited next to
the crumbled van for someone to take him and Pontes to the hospital.

``I couldn't see anything, it was too much and too quick,'' Rios said.
``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.''

The California Highway Patrol closed all northbound lanes of Highway 14,
causing traffic to back up for miles.

The accident happened just west of Edwards Air Force Base at the
northern edge of Los Angeles County, not far from the site of a fiery
truck pileup Friday night in a tunnel on the Interstate 5 freeway. The
cause of that crash, which killed three people and injured 10, is still
under investigation.

Tuesday's crash left big rigs and passenger cars strewn and bent on the
pavement and dirt center divider.

The weather service issued a dust storm warning for the area Tuesday
afternoon, cautioning that blowing dust in the region could reduce
visibility to near zero.

``It's not unheard-of for the area to experience a dust storm, but it's
not an everyday type of thing,'' said meteorologist Jaime Meier in the
weather service's Oxnard office.

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.

``It's just loose and is able to impact visibility just the same way as
a blizzard,'' Meier said.