‘Very chaotic scene’ on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

Winter driving season arrived in Michigan today with whiteout conditions that led to a 40-car crash and three dead on I-96.

It was a grim reminder of the kinds of conditions that can emerge abruptly when frigid temperatures, high winds and snow combine. And with snow and freezing temperatures forecast for metro Detroit for the upcoming weekend, drivers will want to take it slow, especially over the next few days.

Today’s pileup began when snow blanketed I-96 near Fowlerville around 9:30 a.m. When that blanket of snow froze, the road surface became treacherous.

The crash left three people dead — they have not been identified — and eleven injured. Some motorists had to be extricated.

“It was very chaotic for them to get to the victims to assess the situation,” Livingston County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Sanborn said at a three p.m. news conference.

Westbound I-96 reopened late Thursday after vehicles were liquidated. The expressway was closed inbetween M-59 and M-52. Eastbound was re-opened about Two:50 p.m.

During or instantaneously after the crash, a tractor-trailer was jackknifed across most of the lanes of I-96, about a dozen cars and trucks were in the ditches of the median and shoulder of the road and several dozen more vehicles were smashed but had been able to pull off on the side of the road.

A Free Press reporter traveling to Lansing heard “the most appalling sounds I’ve ever heard” as a tractor-trailer’s tires skidded on the ice behind her. She had nowhere to go because traffic was at a standstill.

“Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me,” reporter Kathleen Gray said, noting that “it very likely took about an hour to get through the accident scene. Traffic was able to pull around the jackknifed tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the freeway.”

Share This Gallery

The crash offers a troubling reminder of other multi-vehicle crashes on Michigan’s interstates in latest years.

Almost two hundred vehicles were involved in a crash on I-94 west of the Calhoun-Kalamazoo county line in January 2015. The crash, which had part of the interstate closed for days, left 58-year-old truck driver Jean Larocque of Quebec dead and sent almost two dozen people to hospitals. Frigid temperatures and throating snow were blamed as was excessive speed, and dozens of drivers were ticketed for speeding, according to reports posted at freep.com.

An audit conducted after the crash called for relocating a cable barrier, more electronic signs, fresh lighting and freeway courtesy patrols, according to an Associated Press report.

That crash was just more than two years after a 41-vehicle crash in whiteout conditions on I-75 near the Springwells exit in Detroit left three dead — Gabrielle Greenwood, 9, and her stepbrother, Aidan Hicks, 7, of Windsor, and Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park, the Free Press reported.

Concerns about crashes have prompted a fresh effort by area highway departments.

Just this week, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it and several road commissions and municipalities would begin using green flashing lights on winter maintenance vehicles in order to better catch the attention of other drivers.

The lights are expected to cost less than $100 per vehicle and should help reduce crashes, the department said.

Livingston Daily reporters Noe Hernandez and Lisa Roose-Church contributed.

Very chaotic scene on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

‘Very chaotic scene’ on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

Winter driving season arrived in Michigan today with whiteout conditions that led to a 40-car crash and three dead on I-96.

It was a grim reminder of the kinds of conditions that can show up abruptly when frigid temperatures, high winds and snow combine. And with snow and freezing temperatures forecast for metro Detroit for the upcoming weekend, drivers will want to take it slow, especially over the next few days.

Today’s pileup began when snow blanketed I-96 near Fowlerville around 9:30 a.m. When that blanket of snow froze, the road surface became treacherous.

The crash left three people dead — they have not been identified — and eleven injured. Some motorists had to be extricated.

“It was very chaotic for them to get to the victims to assess the situation,” Livingston County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Sanborn said at a three p.m. news conference.

Westbound I-96 reopened late Thursday after vehicles were eliminated. The expressway was closed inbetween M-59 and M-52. Eastbound was re-opened about Two:50 p.m.

During or instantaneously after the crash, a tractor-trailer was jackknifed across most of the lanes of I-96, about a dozen cars and trucks were in the ditches of the median and shoulder of the road and several dozen more vehicles were smashed but had been able to pull off on the side of the road.

A Free Press reporter traveling to Lansing heard “the most horrifying sounds I’ve ever heard” as a tractor-trailer’s tires skidded on the ice behind her. She had nowhere to go because traffic was at a standstill.

“Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me,” reporter Kathleen Gray said, noting that “it most likely took about an hour to get through the accident scene. Traffic was able to pull around the jackknifed tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the freeway.”

Share This Gallery

The crash offers a troubling reminder of other multi-vehicle crashes on Michigan’s interstates in latest years.

Almost two hundred vehicles were involved in a crash on I-94 west of the Calhoun-Kalamazoo county line in January 2015. The crash, which had part of the interstate closed for days, left 58-year-old truck driver Jean Larocque of Quebec dead and sent almost two dozen people to hospitals. Frigid temperatures and sucking snow were blamed as was excessive speed, and dozens of drivers were ticketed for speeding, according to reports posted at freep.com.

An audit conducted after the crash called for relocating a cable barrier, more electronic signs, fresh lighting and freeway courtesy patrols, according to an Associated Press report.

That crash was just more than two years after a 41-vehicle crash in whiteout conditions on I-75 near the Springwells exit in Detroit left three dead — Gabrielle Greenwood, 9, and her stepbrother, Aidan Hicks, 7, of Windsor, and Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park, the Free Press reported.

Concerns about crashes have prompted a fresh effort by area highway departments.

Just this week, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it and several road commissions and municipalities would commence using green flashing lights on winter maintenance vehicles in order to better catch the attention of other drivers.

The lights are expected to cost less than $100 per vehicle and should help reduce crashes, the department said.

Livingston Daily reporters Noe Hernandez and Lisa Roose-Church contributed.

Very chaotic scene on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

‘Very chaotic scene’ on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

Winter driving season arrived in Michigan today with whiteout conditions that led to a 40-car crash and three dead on I-96.

It was a grim reminder of the kinds of conditions that can show up abruptly when frigid temperatures, high winds and snow combine. And with snow and freezing temperatures forecast for metro Detroit for the upcoming weekend, drivers will want to take it slow, especially over the next few days.

Today’s pileup began when snow blanketed I-96 near Fowlerville around 9:30 a.m. When that blanket of snow froze, the road surface became treacherous.

The crash left three people dead — they have not been identified — and eleven injured. Some motorists had to be extricated.

“It was very chaotic for them to get to the victims to assess the situation,” Livingston County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Sanborn said at a three p.m. news conference.

Westbound I-96 reopened late Thursday after vehicles were liquidated. The expressway was closed inbetween M-59 and M-52. Eastbound was re-opened about Two:50 p.m.

During or instantly after the crash, a tractor-trailer was jackknifed across most of the lanes of I-96, about a dozen cars and trucks were in the ditches of the median and shoulder of the road and several dozen more vehicles were smashed but had been able to pull off on the side of the road.

A Free Press reporter traveling to Lansing heard “the most appalling sounds I’ve ever heard” as a tractor-trailer’s tires skidded on the ice behind her. She had nowhere to go because traffic was at a standstill.

“Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me,” reporter Kathleen Gray said, noting that “it very likely took about an hour to get through the accident scene. Traffic was able to pull around the jackknifed tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the freeway.”

Share This Gallery

The crash offers a troubling reminder of other multi-vehicle crashes on Michigan’s interstates in latest years.

Almost two hundred vehicles were involved in a crash on I-94 west of the Calhoun-Kalamazoo county line in January 2015. The crash, which had part of the interstate closed for days, left 58-year-old truck driver Jean Larocque of Quebec dead and sent almost two dozen people to hospitals. Frigid temperatures and throating snow were blamed as was excessive speed, and dozens of drivers were ticketed for speeding, according to reports posted at freep.com.

An audit conducted after the crash called for relocating a cable barrier, more electronic signs, fresh lighting and freeway courtesy patrols, according to an Associated Press report.

That crash was just more than two years after a 41-vehicle crash in whiteout conditions on I-75 near the Springwells exit in Detroit left three dead — Gabrielle Greenwood, 9, and her stepbrother, Aidan Hicks, 7, of Windsor, and Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park, the Free Press reported.

Concerns about crashes have prompted a fresh effort by area highway departments.

Just this week, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it and several road commissions and municipalities would commence using green flashing lights on winter maintenance vehicles in order to better catch the attention of other drivers.

The lights are expected to cost less than $100 per vehicle and should help reduce crashes, the department said.

Livingston Daily reporters Noe Hernandez and Lisa Roose-Church contributed.

Very chaotic scene on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

‘Very chaotic scene’ on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

Winter driving season arrived in Michigan today with whiteout conditions that led to a 40-car crash and three dead on I-96.

It was a grim reminder of the kinds of conditions that can emerge all of a sudden when frigid temperatures, high winds and snow combine. And with snow and freezing temperatures forecast for metro Detroit for the upcoming weekend, drivers will want to take it slow, especially over the next few days.

Today’s pileup began when snow blanketed I-96 near Fowlerville around 9:30 a.m. When that blanket of snow froze, the road surface became treacherous.

The crash left three people dead — they have not been identified — and eleven injured. Some motorists had to be extricated.

“It was very chaotic for them to get to the victims to assess the situation,” Livingston County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Sanborn said at a three p.m. news conference.

Westbound I-96 reopened late Thursday after vehicles were eliminated. The expressway was closed inbetween M-59 and M-52. Eastbound was re-opened about Two:50 p.m.

During or instantly after the crash, a tractor-trailer was jackknifed across most of the lanes of I-96, about a dozen cars and trucks were in the ditches of the median and shoulder of the road and several dozen more vehicles were smashed but had been able to pull off on the side of the road.

A Free Press reporter traveling to Lansing heard “the most horrifying sounds I’ve ever heard” as a tractor-trailer’s tires skidded on the ice behind her. She had nowhere to go because traffic was at a standstill.

“Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me,” reporter Kathleen Gray said, noting that “it very likely took about an hour to get through the accident scene. Traffic was able to pull around the jackknifed tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the freeway.”

Share This Gallery

The crash offers a troubling reminder of other multi-vehicle crashes on Michigan’s interstates in latest years.

Almost two hundred vehicles were involved in a crash on I-94 west of the Calhoun-Kalamazoo county line in January 2015. The crash, which had part of the interstate closed for days, left 58-year-old truck driver Jean Larocque of Quebec dead and sent almost two dozen people to hospitals. Frigid temperatures and deep throating snow were blamed as was excessive speed, and dozens of drivers were ticketed for speeding, according to reports posted at freep.com.

An audit conducted after the crash called for relocating a cable barrier, more electronic signs, fresh lighting and freeway courtesy patrols, according to an Associated Press report.

That crash was just more than two years after a 41-vehicle crash in whiteout conditions on I-75 near the Springwells exit in Detroit left three dead — Gabrielle Greenwood, 9, and her stepbrother, Aidan Hicks, 7, of Windsor, and Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park, the Free Press reported.

Concerns about crashes have prompted a fresh effort by area highway departments.

Just this week, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it and several road commissions and municipalities would embark using green flashing lights on winter maintenance vehicles in order to better catch the attention of other drivers.

The lights are expected to cost less than $100 per vehicle and should help reduce crashes, the department said.

Livingston Daily reporters Noe Hernandez and Lisa Roose-Church contributed.

Very chaotic scene on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

‘Very chaotic scene’ on I-96 as three dead, eleven hurt in 40-vehicle pileup

Winter driving season arrived in Michigan today with whiteout conditions that led to a 40-car crash and three dead on I-96.

It was a grim reminder of the kinds of conditions that can emerge all of a sudden when frigid temperatures, high winds and snow combine. And with snow and freezing temperatures forecast for metro Detroit for the upcoming weekend, drivers will want to take it slow, especially over the next few days.

Today’s pileup began when snow blanketed I-96 near Fowlerville around 9:30 a.m. When that blanket of snow froze, the road surface became treacherous.

The crash left three people dead — they have not been identified — and eleven injured. Some motorists had to be extricated.

“It was very chaotic for them to get to the victims to assess the situation,” Livingston County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Sanborn said at a three p.m. news conference.

Westbound I-96 reopened late Thursday after vehicles were liquidated. The expressway was closed inbetween M-59 and M-52. Eastbound was re-opened about Two:50 p.m.

During or instantaneously after the crash, a tractor-trailer was jackknifed across most of the lanes of I-96, about a dozen cars and trucks were in the ditches of the median and shoulder of the road and several dozen more vehicles were smashed but had been able to pull off on the side of the road.

A Free Press reporter traveling to Lansing heard “the most horrifying sounds I’ve ever heard” as a tractor-trailer’s tires skidded on the ice behind her. She had nowhere to go because traffic was at a standstill.

“Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me,” reporter Kathleen Gray said, noting that “it very likely took about an hour to get through the accident scene. Traffic was able to pull around the jackknifed tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the freeway.”

Share This Gallery

The crash offers a troubling reminder of other multi-vehicle crashes on Michigan’s interstates in latest years.

Almost two hundred vehicles were involved in a crash on I-94 west of the Calhoun-Kalamazoo county line in January 2015. The crash, which had part of the interstate closed for days, left 58-year-old truck driver Jean Larocque of Quebec dead and sent almost two dozen people to hospitals. Frigid temperatures and sucking snow were blamed as was excessive speed, and dozens of drivers were ticketed for speeding, according to reports posted at freep.com.

An audit conducted after the crash called for relocating a cable barrier, more electronic signs, fresh lighting and freeway courtesy patrols, according to an Associated Press report.

That crash was just more than two years after a 41-vehicle crash in whiteout conditions on I-75 near the Springwells exit in Detroit left three dead — Gabrielle Greenwood, 9, and her stepbrother, Aidan Hicks, 7, of Windsor, and Menelaos (Larry) Manolis, 54, of Allen Park, the Free Press reported.

Concerns about crashes have prompted a fresh effort by area highway departments.

Just this week, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it and several road commissions and municipalities would embark using green flashing lights on winter maintenance vehicles in order to better catch the attention of other drivers.

The lights are expected to cost less than $100 per vehicle and should help reduce crashes, the department said.

Livingston Daily reporters Noe Hernandez and Lisa Roose-Church contributed.

Related movie: