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1 dead in tipped semi crash on I-94 at 10 Mile

Published  March 7, 2019 7:58pm EST
News
FOX 2 Detroit

(FOX 2) - One person has died and several others were injured in a crash on I-94 Thursday afternoon. 

Westbound I-94 at 10 Mile was closed for hours while emergency crews are still on scene. The crash involved a tipped semi and at least three other vehicles. I-94 was recently reopened at 6 p.m. 

Michigan State Police say around 1:30 p.m., traffic began to slow down -- possibly due to a road crew working down the roadway. The semi truck driver that had been driving in the center lane appears to have lost control and couldn't stop in time, rear-ending a Ford Taurus. Police say the female driver of the the Ford was killed instantly. Her nephew, Walter Waters, identified the driver killed as Denise Bonner-Vaughn.

The semi truck then rolled over and landed on a Chrysler and a Cadillac SUV. The semi driver and two other drivers suffered minor injuries.

A fourth passenger vehicle was struck during the crash, however police have not determined when. That driver was also transported with minor injuries. 

We're told the freeway closure and delays are expected through rush hour. 

Waters said when he first arrived, he didn't realize how bad it was.

"I thought it was something simple. When I got there and saw her in the car, it shook me up a little bit," he said.

Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said had she been wearing her seatbelt, she likely would've survived the crash.

He said when MSP first arrived, they thought the person killed had been underneath the semi. Miraculously, a woman driving the crushed Chrysler mini van survived with just bumps and bruises. 

"The driver crawled out of there with minimal injuries, if none at all," Shaw said.

Th chain reaction crash injured the driver of the Cadillac SUV and a fourth driver inside a silver Ford. The driver of the semi only suffered minor injuries. Walters says while he's glad no one else was hurt -- people need to slow down on the roads.

"Stop driving so fast. Whoever was driving that semi is responsible for this accident," he said.

Michigan State Police have just began to investigate the crash.

"In Michigan, you're required to maintain your vehicle at a safe and proper speed that you don't run into the person in front of you, and that's going to be the cause of this crash," Shaw said.