Deadly 150-vehicle pileup closes I-94 in west Michigan

Roughly 150 vehicles careened into a fatal pileup along a snowy I-94 between Battle Creek and Galesburg Friday morning, causiing fires on trucks carrying fireworks and acid and closing the freeway.

Michigan State Police Lt. Rick Pazder says the accident killed one person — a trucker from Ottawa, Canada — and injured an unknown number of people. He says investigators believe around 150 vehicles were involved, mostly in westbound lanes

Some vehicles were burning in the smashup west of Exit 92, including a truck that carried fireworks. Shortly before noon, those fireworks caught fire, causing an extended display of aerial explosions.

Area hospitals reported treating 16 patients; one remained in serious condition about 1 p.m.

I-94 is closed in both directions from Exit 88 east of Galesburg to Exit 92 west of Battle Creek, the Michigan Department of Transportation said.

Only a few vehicles were involved in what Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard C. Fuller said was the first crash at the scene about halfway between Battle Creek and Galesburg. That occurred in the eastbound lanes. Quickly, vehicles began to pile up in the westbound lanes of the freeway, slamming one after another into vehicles ahead and the median barrier. Crashed vehicles stretched for hundreds of yards in the westbound lanes.

Battle Creek police and fire crews joined the response to the crash, city officials said. And two Battle Creek Transit buses were dispatched to the scene to carry uninjured crash victims from the scene, where it was 12 degrees late this morning, to a Galesburg-Augusta school serving as a warming shelter.

The crash was reported about 10 a.m. By 1 p.m., it appeared that most of the victims had been transported from the scene.

Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo received four patients from the crash. One had been in critical condition, but all five were reported to be in good condition early this afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Wyllie said. She said six other patients were taken to Bronson Battle Creek with minor injuries.

Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo received six patients from the crash; one was in serious condition, while the others were listed as "fair," according to spokesman Lew Tysman.

Area schools were closed because of the snowstorm. That included Kellogg Community College and Robert Miller College.

Michigan State Police say a trucker from Ottawa, Canada, has died and multiple others are injured. People who are not injured were taken to warming centers, according to State Police Inspector Tracey McAndrew.

"Hazmat officials believe that hazardous material that was on scene is probably entirely burned off by now, so what we're asking for now is for shelter in place, where anyone within one mile of the crash scene, we're just asking them if they have not evacuated to stay inside," said Michigan State Police Lieutenant Rick Pazder.

Police first reported that 90 vehicles were involved, then no more than 70. But Pazder says a better count now puts the number around 150, with a majority in westbound lanes.

Law enforcement described the scene as a "very chaotic situation." Drivers are advised to avoid the area as I-94 will be closed for much of the afternoon.

As wreckage continued to burn early this afternoon, police briefly asked those within one mile of the crash scene to stay inside if they have not already been evacuated.

"Hazmat officials believe that hazardous material that was on scene is probably entirely burned off by now, so what we're asking for now is for shelter in place, where anyone within one mile of the crash scene, we're just asking them if they have not evacuated to stay inside, said Michigan State Police Lt. Rick Pazder.

No other homes need to be evacuated, he said.

Pazder said there is one confirmed fatality, but "It's unknown if there are others at this point."

I-94 is expected to remain shut down for an estimated 12 hours, he said.

About a half-foot of snow fell in the Battle Creek area from Thursday afternoon to this morning.

Road conditions were made worse by high winds -- an overnight wind gust of 33 mph was reported at W.K. Kellogg Airport.

The Battle Creek Enquirer, WZZM (Channel 13) and the Associated Press contributed to this report.