A multiple car pileup on I-94 in Michigan that involved 123 vehicles killed one person and injured 22 was described by witnesses as “unreal.” The accident has been attributed to dangerous icy conditions that some drivers who travel the highway daily called the worst they had ever seen.
Witness Accounts
One person involved in the car pileup, who said he drove the affected section of I-94 each day on his way to work in Battle Creek, said that he knew as soon as he pulled onto the highway that conditions were bad. His tires spun after he tapped the accelerator. He managed to travel 17 miles, going between 35 and 40 miles per hour when a van began sliding sideways toward his car. He sped up to avoid the collision, but had to brake for another vehicle in front of him. The van slid into the back of his car while the front end of the man’s car struck the vehicle in front of him. He said it appeared the van had been hit by a semi-truck prior to sliding into his vehicle.
Once they got the vehicles pulled over, the man stepped out of his car to assess the damages. A Kalamazoo County sheriff’s deputy told the man to remain in his vehicle. Within seconds, he said that he heard other crashes occurring behind the one he was involved in and realized that remaining in his vehicle would keep him safer than standing on the side of the road. He said he sat in his car and watched the car pileup continue in the eastbound lane, then saw similar accidents in the westbound lane.
Police said that at least one person was killed in the car pileup, but there could be more fatalities discovered after all vehicles are removed from the scene. Weather is believed to be the cause of the crashes, although an investigation is still ongoing. According to one man involved, there was blowing snow with whiteout conditions as well as snow piled on the roadway. He said that as he drove in the slow lane at between 35 and 40 miles per hour, semi-trucks passed him travelling at speeds he estimated were as high as 60.
Bad Road Conditions Require Extra Caution
Poor road conditions caused by winter weather require drivers to use extra care when traveling. The threshold for what constitutes careless driving is greatly reduced in adverse weather, and drivers who cause injury or damage while driving in such conditions may be liable to those they harm.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car pileup, or if a loved one has died of injuries they sustained in a multiple vehicle crash while in winter weather or other adverse road conditions, contact Attorney Group today to learn whether you qualify for a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
