A 'bomb-like sound' said witness of fiery I-75 crash with semi-truck, two vehicles

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A fiery crash involving a semi-truck and two vehicles sent seven people to the hospital and shut down I-75 for hours Friday.

"I heard the bomb-like sound," said a witness. "I came over and already everything was on fire. You can see where the gray SUV was pushed up against the wall."

There was chaos and flames on I-75 when a 27-year-old was driving northbound near Warren Ave and lost control due to speeding, hitting the side of a semi-truck according to Michigan State Police.

"They were going 70, 75," said another witness. "The truck was in the first lane. The blue SUV jumped in front of the truck. The truck had tried to avoid the SUV but he couldn’t avoid him so he ran into the wall he jackknifed.

"The cab went over the wall. He was still in it.- Two guys, somehow they jumped out the cars and saved everybody."

According to investigators, it was caused due to a speeding 27-year-old driver who hit the side of the semi on northbound I-75 near Warren Avenue, according to Michigan State Police.  The truck driver then lost control and hit the median wall.

After knocking down a light pole, the cab of the truck with the driver inside, flipped over the median wall and landed on the southbound I-75 lanes. The 27-year-old driver's vehicle flipped on its side after hitting the truck, while the semi's chassis caught fire.

A third driver in a vehicle was involved in the crash and flipped on its side near the truck chassis that was on fire.

Investigators say the crash into the median toppled a light pole and caused a dangerous concrete debris field that blocked all lanes on southbound I-75.

Three suffered minor injuries. The at-fault driver was cited for careless driving and no insurance.

Police say the tanker was carrying about 10 thousand gallons of fuel but amazingly did not catch fire.  

All lanes - both northbound and southbound were closed while Hazmat crews cleaned up the gas and oil spills.