Lake Elmo swimmer in ICU after "nightmarish" exposure to toxic chemicals following Illinois tanker crash

MINNEAPOLIS — A swimmer from Lake Elmo may face a long road to recovery following a deadly crash.

Sarah Tague, 18, avoided a pileup in Illinois last week, but she suffered chemical burns from an overturned tanker leaking toxic gas.

She was on her way to a meet with her University of Missouri swim teammates when they all came upon the crash. The truck overturned outside Effingham, Illinois and spilled 7,000 gallons of toxic anhydrous ammonia.

The chemical killed five people and sent Tague and her three teammates to the ICU.

"It feels very surreal, very nightmarish like," said her aunt, Brandi VanGunst.

Tague is now stable, though she has swelling in her throat and lungs, as well as trouble with her eye sight. Her other teammates, according to VanGunst, are also struggling with their sight. 

The Vice President of the Mizzou Swim club said she and her teammates ran to seek cover from the toxic smoke. They were rescued 20 minutes later.

VanGunst says Tague is now no longer on a ventilator but is expected to be in the ICU for another 24 hours.

"Being in contact with ammonia can be very severe, the rest of your life, so we're hoping that things work out but we can't say anything about the future right now," said VanGunst.

So far, a GoFundMe page for the four swimmers has raised $30,000. A separate GoFundMe for Tague has raised $15,000.