US: 4 dead, 17 injured after truck crashes into vehicles stuck in Michigan traffic

A portion of Interstate 96 in southeastern Michigan remained closed Sunday after a semi-truck crashed into more than a dozen vehicles overnight, killing four people and injuring 17 others, state police said.

Traffic on I-96 near Webberville was temporarily halted late Saturday as utility crews completed work on power lines in the area. A semi-truck and trailer was traveling westbound and struck the stalled vehicles around 11:45 p.m.

“It appears the driver of the semi-truck did not see the backup and was unable to stop his vehicle in time,” Michigan State Police said in a statement on the social media platform

The impact caused the truck and several vehicles to catch fire. According to police, more than a dozen vehicles were involved in the accident.

Police confirmed four deaths and said 17 people, including the truck driver, were injured and taken to nearby hospitals.

Michigan State Police said Sunday that the victims were a 29-year-old Carson City man driving a Ford pickup and three family members from Lansing who were in a Chevy Trax. They were identified as a 20-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man. The police do not want to say how the two are connected.

Authorities continued cleanup efforts Sunday and said I-96 near the crash site would be “closed indefinitely.”