Lisa Roose-Church

Livingston Daily

A semi-tractor trailer hauling Budweiser beer caught fire Friday morning after the semi blew a tire.

Deputy Chief Michael Evans of the Brighton Area Fire Department said the trucker was traveling west on Interstate-96 around 9:30 a.m. when the tire blew between Grand River Avenue and Dorr Road in Genoa Township.

“He had a tire blowout and the tire caught fire, which caught the rest of the trailer on fire,” Evans said. “The biggest impact is after the fire was out, Corrigan (Towing) had to physically remove all the product out of the trailer in order to haul the trailer away.”

No injuries were reported.

Evans said the semi-trailer was “full” of Budweiser beer, but how much was not immediately known. Who owns the semi also was not immediately available.

Authorities closed the expressway until after 2 p.m., which caused a large backup on the expressway as well as westbound Grand River Avenue as motorists tried to avoid the scene.

“It back up far east of Brighton,” Evans noted.

There were no injuries reported.

Michigan State Police and Livingston County Sheriff’s Department personnel assisted at the scene.

Contact Livingston Daily justice reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or lrchurch@gannett.com.