At Least 1 Dead in 60-Vehicle Pileup
http://apnews.excite.com/article/200302 ... 2OPG1.html
Feb 7, 5:00 PM (ET)
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) - At least 60 cars and trucks crashed Friday in a blinding snowstorm, killing at least one person and leaving several others seriously injured, authorities said.
Rescuers were at the scene three hours after the crash in Berrien County's Benton Township. They were evaluating the injured and transporting them to trauma centers, hospitals or a Red Cross warming center, depending on the severity of their injuries, Lt. Joseph Zangaro said from the Michigan State Police post at Bridgman.
"We had multiple people trapped in cars," Zangaro said about 4:30 p.m. EST. "We just got the last one out, but we're still checking."
A car ran underneath a semi-trailer about 1:30 p.m. on Interstate 94 near this city 30 miles north of the Indiana border, the statement said. A tanker truck then crashed and caught on fire, it said.
Video taken from a helicopter and shown on Detroit-area television station WDIV showed several tractor trailers jackknifed, blocking the freeway.
A 12-mile stretch of I-94 east of Benton Harbor was closed in both directions and likely would remain closed at least until midnight, Zangaro said. The interstate is the main thoroughfare connecting Detroit and Chicago.
Heavy snow moving eastward off nearby Lake Michigan had been falling for hours before the crash. The interstate had been plowed but sustained high winds limited visibility, Zangaro said.
"At the time of the crash, visibility was just about zero," he said. "There's not much you can do when you can't see."
At least six ambulances and several fire departments were at the scene, the sheriff's department said.
