KALAMAZOO, MI - A stretch of I-94 where a Southwest Michigan fire chief working a crash scene was struck and killed by car has been a hotspot for crashes.

Ed Switalski, fire chief for Comstock Township, was killed Wednesday night on eastbound I-94 when a car that failed to stop at the scene of an earlier crash struck him.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas said the design of the highway where Switalksi was killed, a half-mile east of Sprinkle Road near the business loop at Exit 81, hasn't been determined to be a factor in the crash, "but all this points to an area notorious for accidents."

Lt. Dale Hinz said troopers at the Michigan State Police Paw Paw post are "very familiar" with crashes on that stretch of I-94, most of which are due to driver error and high speeds.

"It's incumbent upon drivers to always be in control of their vehicle and not be lulled into false sense of security when driving on a freeway. (I-94) is designed to handle higher speeds and that sometimes causes drivers to be lulled into a false sense of security," Hinz said.

"If you see the flashing lights, slow down well in advance and gradually," he said. "Attentive driving is the biggest preventative factor with tragedies like we had last night. We need motorists to be focused on their driving instead of other distractions they have."

Switalski was hit while standing near the rear of his vehicle on the right shoulder of the road. He and other first responders were preparing to leave the scene of the previous crash, which was reported at 9:30 p.m. near mile marker 81.

Though it hasn't been determined what exactly caused the driver to hit Switalski, a 2015 report completed after a chain-reaction crash near Galesburg says rear-end collisions are frequent between mile markers 79 and 80, and 40 to 50 percent of crashes in the area occurred in the dark.

According to Michigan Department of Transportation figures, an average of 44,800 vehicles travel daily between Exit 80 and Exit 81. Chief Mike O'Brien, president of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs, said drivers are known to aggressively pass each other to get around semi-trailer trucks on I-94.

"Even police and emergency responders to that stretch are extra vigilant because of the notoriety of the place," Matyas said.

But Nick Schirripa, MDOT Southwest Region spokesperson, said the area where Switalski was hit is no more dangerous than other stretches of I-94. Weather, lighting, traffic volumes and driver behavior are some of many factors that contribute to crashes in the area, he said.

The I-94 corridor was the subject of the 2015 safety audit and report by the state and the Federal Highway Administration prompted by a 193-vehicle pileup on I-94 east of Galesburg.

The report, which covered 143 miles of the highway from the Michigan-Indiana border to Jackson, recommended the installation of Intelligent Transportation Systems between mile marker 79 and the I-94 Business Loop. The system includes environmental sensors and electronic signs on the roadway intended to notify motorists of impending weather, road conditions or traffic backups.

The system is recommended be installed between mile markers 81 and 87, and 87 and 89 near Climax, according to the report.

Signs have not been installed between Sprinkle Road and the I-94 Business Loop, Schirripa said.

MDOT plans to eventually widen the area where Switalski was hit.

Sections of I-94 are being widened in segments from U.S. 131 east. Funding hasn't been secured to widen the section where Switalski was killed, Schirripa said, but the bridge at Exit 80 over Sprinkle Road was recently reconstructed to allow three lanes to run underneath it.

The report states that the concrete median on the left shoulder between Exit 79 and Exit 81 is "very narrow," which increases the likelihood of collisions and makes it more difficult for emergency responders to clear crashes.

Crashes into the concrete median-barrier were most frequent between mile markers 80 and 81, near the curve before the I-94 Business Loop interchange.

When the state earlier this year increased the speed limit on 600 miles of rural highway from 70 mph to 75 mph, I-94 speeds were not adjusted.

In an email, MDOT spokesman James Lake said the chosen routes were identified based on safety and engineering reviews that examined roadway features such as lane width, shoulder width, curvature, sight distance, number of access points and number of passing opportunities, as well as how a roadway is performing from a safety and operational perspective.

It was determined that I-94's design and safety features were not suited to increase the speed limit. Highways that were selected generally have lower traffic volumes and are in more rural locations.