Nine injured after wrong-way motorist causes collision that results in fires, entrapments
Nine people were injured after a wrong-way motorist crashed into a semi truck in Michigan on Wednesday afternoon.
The accident happened at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18th on Ford Road near Interstate 275 in Canton Township, Michigan.
According to ClickonDetriot, a passenger vehicle was traveling south in the northbound lanes of Ford Road when it collided with a semi truck making a turn.
“So, I will reiterate that this is uh this is still currently under investigation, but the information that we have at this time is that the passenger vehicle was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed in the northbound lanes. The truck was turning and causing a collision,” said Interim Police Chief Joseph Bialy of Canton Township.
“Based upon that, the truck had some fluid that spilled on the ground, which then ignited, causing the passengers to be trapped inside the vehicles. Our responding officers quickly took action, going into the fire and removing all the occupants from the vehicles.”
Five people inside the semi truck and the passenger car were injured, and four officers were hurt while rescuing the trapped passengers, resulting in a total of nine individuals injured.
“Our women and men of the Canton Police Department absolutely acted with bravery and courage to make sure that they rendered aid to the citizens that were involved in this, and making sure that everybody was as safe as they could be,” Bialy said. “We believe the source [of the fire] came from one of the fuel cells on the truck.”
“We had hazmat on the ground, and we have a gas station. And if you notice, the flames were so high that they melted the traffic control signals. And so, they fought courageously to get these flames down. I give credit to our fire department and our regional partners that came to help us out to be able to navigate this. I do want to reiterate, though, that there is no danger to the public at this time, but the spill has been contained, and that right now we’re just asking that everyone avoid the area as we do continue our investigation.”
“And again, I’ll reiterate, there are no life-threatening injuries [of the nine injured]. Three of our four officers were taken to the hospital for precautionary measures for smoke inhalation. And one of our officers, one of the first ones to go into the flames to remove the victims, suffered burns,” Bialy said.
The accident is still under investigation.