Four people were killed, three of them related, and 17 injured after a semi-trailer truck plowed into more than a dozen vehicles on a Michigan interstate and exploded in flames, state police said Sunday.
Crews were still working to clean up debris from the late Saturday accident and predicted the roadway overpass intersecting with state highway M-52, would be closed until the Michigan Department of Transportation could verify the bridge’s structural integrity.
“We don’t anticipate the roadway being open anytime soon,” Michigan State Police (MSP) said Sunday, adding that it would most likely remain closed at least into Monday.
The tragedy occurred just before midnight Saturday, when the expressway was closed down briefly near Webberville so crews could string power lines across it, MSP said. Troopers had just reopened the highway after the crews were done when the driver of a semi-trailer truck heading west saw the line of backed-up cars too late to avoid crashing into them.
Barreling down the left lane, he struck numerous vehicles, police said.
“At this time it is estimated that approximately fifteen vehicles are involved to include the semitruck,” police said. “There are four confirmed fatalities. Seventeen vehicle occupants have been transported to UM Sparrow Hospital and McLaren Hospital in Lansing for serious injuries.”
A 29-year-old man in a Ford F-150 pickup was killed, as were two women, aged 20 and 43, and a 47-year-old man, all three from Lansing.
“The victims were in a Chevy Trax and were related,” police said.
The man in the pickup was ejected from his vehicle; the semi driver was among the injured and had “serious burns,” a police spokesperson told WJBK-TV. Fifteen vehicles were ultimately involved, including the semi-trailer truck.
With News Wire Services
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