Four people were killed, including three relatives, and 17 injured after a tractor-trailer crashed into more than a dozen vehicles on a Michigan highway and exploded in flames, state police said Sunday .
Crews were still working to clean up debris from Saturday night’s crash and anticipated the overpass crossing State Road M-52 would be closed until the Michigan Department of Transportation could verify the structural integrity of the bridge.
“We don’t plan for the road to be open anytime soon,” Michigan State Police (MSP) said Sunday, adding that it would most likely remain closed at least until Monday.
The tragedy occurred shortly before midnight Saturday, when the highway was briefly closed near Webberville so crews could pass power lines there, MSP said. Police had just reopened the highway after crews had finished when the driver of a westbound tractor-trailer spotted the line of cars reversing too late to avoid hitting them.
While driving in the left lane, he struck numerous vehicles, police said.
“At this time, it is estimated that approximately 15 vehicles are involved, including the tractor-trailer,” police said. “There is four confirmed deaths. Seventeen occupants of the vehicle were transported to UM Sparrow Hospital and McLaren Hospital in Lansing with serious injuries.
A 29-year-old man in a Ford F-150 pickup truck was killed, along with two women, ages 20 and 43, and a 47-year-old man, all three from Lansing.
“The victims were in a Chevrolet Trax and were related,” police said.
The man in the van was ejected from his vehicle; The tractor-trailer driver was among those injured and had “severe burns,” a police spokesperson told WJBK-TV. Fifteen vehicles were ultimately involved, including the semi-trailer truck.
With news feed services
