Death toll rises to 7 in massive downstate chain-reaction crash

First responders work the scene of a crash involving at least 70 vehicles that shut down northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 55 near Springfield on Monday. (Associated Press)

DIVERNON, Ill. — A section of Interstate 55 where seven people died in a massive pileup as a windstorm kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust Monday reopened Tuesday night after being closed most of the day, authorities announced.

The death toll was previously believed to be six, but another body was recovered from the wreckage Tuesday afternoon.