Earlier Wednesday, one of the drivers involved, Collins, described the scene of the accident.

He said he “freaked out” after looking in his rear-view mirror and watching the tanker truck come over the hill behind him, slam into another truck, clip a second vehicle and then head directly toward his 2012 Nissan Versa sedan that was crawling in traffic.

“My biggest fear was not being able to see my daughter again,” he said.

Collins said he was driving in the center of the three westbound lanes on his way to an appointment in Peoria, Illinios, when he came over a hill and saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles ahead attending to a crash on the right shoulder of the highway.

Collins said he slowed and moved to the left lane to avoid the emergency vehicles when he saw the tanker truck come over the hill behind him and crash hard into another truck.

“Literally, when he first hit, it was a white cloud,” he said.

Collins said he attempted to move out of the way as the truck bore down on him, but there was nowhere to go on the congested highway.

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