Fiery Michigan Crash Kills 4 After Trucker Slams Into Stopped Traffic

Seventeen other people were injured in the crash, which happened Saturday night on a highway east of Lansing after traffic had been halted to allow for utility work.

Four people were killed and 17 others, including children, were seriously injured after a semi truck crashed into vehicles stopped on a highway in Michigan on Saturday night, the authorities said.

The crash happened around 11:40 p.m. on an overpass on Interstate 96, east of Lansing, Mich., as crews from DTE Energy worked to string power lines across the highway, the Michigan State Police said in a statement.

“The detail requires the expressway to be shut down for a short period of time so work crews can pull lines across the expressway,” the State Police said.

State troopers had shut down westbound I-96 and had just reopened the highway, the authorities said.

The shutdown had caused traffic to back up. The driver of a semi truck with a trailer hauling bananas was traveling westbound and came up to the stopped traffic, the authorities said.

“It appears the driver of the semi truck did not see the backup and could not stop his vehicle in time,” the State Police said.

The resulting crash caused the truck and several vehicles to catch fire. The crash involved 15 vehicles, including the semi truck, the police said.

Troopers said three of the people killed were two women, ages 20 and 43, and a 47-year-old male, all from Lansing. They were in a Chevy Trax and were related, the police said. The fourth victim was a 29-year-old man from Carson City, Mich., who was driving a Ford F-150 pickup.

A State Police spokesman said the department does not release the names of crash victims per its policy.

The driver of the semi truck, whose name was also not released, was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., for treatment of burns.

The State Police spokesman said it was early in the investigation and that it was not immediately clear what charges, if any, the driver might face.

Of the three victims admitted to the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, one remained in critical condition and two were in stable condition, said Chris Zoladz, a hospital spokesman.

Other victims were taken to McLaren Greater Lansing. Their conditions were not immediately available.

Crews on Sunday were cleaning up debris on the westbound lanes of I-96. The overpass where the crash happened will be closed indefinitely because the State Department of Transportation needs to inspect it for structural integrity, the authorities said.

Colleen Rosso, a spokeswoman for DTE Energy, said crews were stringing power lines across the highway as a part of a $9 billion plan to update equipment to improve the electric reliability of the company’s network.

“Our hearts go out to the families and victims of this crash,” she said.