40-Car Pileup Leaves three Dead, eleven Injured On Icy I-96
Two cars are seen sandwiched inbetween semi trucks. (credit: Jon Hewett/WWJ)
FOWLERVILLE (WWJ) – Lubricious snow and ice on I-96, east of Lansing, on Thursday caused a series of multi-vehicle accidents resulting in a massive pileup. Three people are confirmed dead and almost a dozen more are hospitalized.
I-96 remained shut down until Ten:20 p.m. westbound from M-59 to M-52 after the chain reaction crash in the area of Fowlerville Road, west of Fowlerville, that happened at around 9:30 a.m.
Livingston County Sheriff Lt. Eric Sanborn says as many as forty vehicles were involved, including numerous semi trucks and cars that were crushed inbetween them. Three people were killed; eleven others were taken to Sparrow and St. Joseph Grace Livingston hospitals with non life-threatening injuries.
Sanborn said rescue crews struggled to reach both victims and survivors. Several had to be extracted from their vehicles.
“It was very chaotic for them to be able to get all of the victims and be able to assess the situation. Some were trapped in just because of some mechanical (problems) with their cars,” he told reporters.
(credit: Ton Jordan/WWJ)
One driver calling WWJ Newsradio nine hundred fifty said there were white-out conditions at the time, with speeds only around twenty five miles an hour due to ice and low visibility.
“There’s at least seven semis in the ditch, jackknifed in the road, crushed a car inbetween to semis,” said the witness, who didn’t want to give his name. “I wouldn’t be astonished if there’s a fatality there.”
Sanborn said, while an investigation is ongoing, weather certainly was a factor.
I-96 in Livingston County (Fowlerville) closed in both directions. 30+ vehicle pileup, three known fatal. LIVE updates @WWJ950 pic.twitter.com/zYVBpI6ZzF
Eastbound I-96 earlier was closed at M-52, the Webberville exit as a precaution, but has since reopened. It’s not clear at this time when the westbound side would be cleared.
The names of the three people killed were not instantly released.
Meantime, salt trucks have been spotted on local roads as slick conditions are being reported in areas around metro Detroit.
Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said there were eight more minor crashes along I-696 due to people driving too prompt for the conditions.
“We’re just attempting to tell people I know it’s the very first snowstorm, I know it’s the very first time we’ve seen snow in a long time, but you gotta slow down and you gotta take a look at those closing distances inbetween the cars in front of you,” Shaw said.
Keep it tuned to WWJ Newsradio nine hundred fifty for the latest during traffic and weather, every ten minutes on the 8s. Check our real-time traffic map now at this link.
