Investigators blame driver going too fast for fatal Fowlerville I-96 pileup
FOWLERVILLE, Mich. (WJBK) - Investigators say a driver traveling too fast for conditions on snow-slickened Interstate 96 in Michigan caused a December pileup that left three people dead.
Authorities have said at least 50 cars were involved in the pileup. Three people died and others were taken to the hospital.
WHMI-FM and the Livingston Daily Press & Argus report Livingston County sheriff's officials say that they anticipate seeking a charge of reckless driving or moving violation causing death against the driver, who is identified as a Howell resident.
The county prosecutor's office would decide and Prosecutor William Vailliencourt declined to speculate on whether such action would be taken.
The department has said 69-year-old Homer Leon Tew and his wife 62-year-old Theresa O'Connor Tew of Ann Arbor died after their vehicle was among 53 vehicles involved in the Dec. 8 pileup about 55 miles west of Detroit. Semi-truck driver 28-year-old Vitalii Stelmakh of Hollywood, Florida, also died.
Eleven other people were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Most were treated quickly and released.
Lives may have been saved, perhaps, by a Good Samaritan who ran through the median, waving his arms alerting drivers of the pileup ahead. One driver told us he saw the Good Samaritan and slowed down, averting a collision.
Man flags down drivers on I-96 to warn them of 40 car Fowlerville pileup
The interstate was closed outside of Fowlerville for much of the day as crews freed people trapped in their cars, and as they investigated the pileup.
The Associated Press contributed to this report