Driver recalls terrifying night during deadly I-96 crash in Ingham County
INGHAM COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A deadly crash in the mid-Michigan area became a night of horror for a driver who was heading home on I-96, with her fiancé and one-year-old just miles ahead in traffic.
Video from the scene on Saturday left many in shock, as a massive fiery crash on westbound I-96 at M-52 in Ingham County left four dead and 17 others injured after a semi-truck slammed into stopped traffic.
Police say those vehicles were at a stand still because crews were stringing power lines across I-96.
"From what we can see, it appears that he didn’t see the traffic slowing down, couldn’t stop in time and ended up just plowing into a group of vehicles," said Lt. Renee Gonzalez from Michigan State Police (MSP).
Hope Neilson was driving home with her 3-year-old daughter and teenage niece when they were diverted off the freeway that night.
"It was still a blaze when I was going down Grand River at M-52 intersection," she said. "I couldn’t really see the fire. I saw smoke, actively working on getting that fire out."
Her fiancé Tyler was driving home in a separate car with their one-year-old daughter. They were stuck in traffic miles ahead of the crash.
"When I got home I told him and I showed him the video, and he was just speechless because he had no idea any of that happened," she said.
The people who were killed in the crash were two men and two women who ranged in age from 20 to 47. Of the 17 people injured, only three remain hospitalized.
The driver of the semi is in the burn unit at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor.
"I was sitting there like, it sounds kind of Corny, but I was just praying with my niece when I realized what was going on, I just stopped and started praying," she said.
The stretch of freeway is back open, and the crash remains under investigation.
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I-96 reopens in mid-Michigan after deadly fiery crash involving semi-truck Saturday night
Access to the westbound I-96 overpass near Webberville in Ingham County was restored Monday morning, state police said on social media. It took more than 24 hours to reopen the highway over M-52 after a semi-truck slammed into stopped traffic late Saturday night.