A multi-vehicle crash that occurred late Saturday night on westbound I-96 in between Lansing & Howell left four dead and injured several others.
The incident took place around 11:42 p.m. as Michigan State Police troopers from the Lansing and Brighton posts were working with Consumers Energy to string power lines across the expressway, police said.
The work required the expressway to be temporarily shut down in both directions to allow crews to pull lines across safely. After briefly halting westbound traffic on I-96 at M-52 in Webberville, the troopers had just reopened the road when the semi-truck approached, police said.
According to authorities, the driver of the westbound semi-truck, which was in the left lane, seemingly failed to notice the line of stopped vehicles in time to prevent a collision.
The impact of the crash resulted in a massive pileup involving approximately fifteen vehicles. The collision caused several vehicles, including the semi-truck, to burst into flames, according to a news release.
Emergency responders confirmed that four people lost their lives in the crash, while seventeen others sustained serious injuries.
Due to the severity of the accident, westbound I-96 remains closed as authorities conduct a thorough investigation into the crash and assess potential structural damage to the M-52 overpass caused by the fire.
