KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — Most agree that it’s something of a miracle that there was only one fatality and a couple of dozen minor injuries caused by Friday’s massive wreck on I-94. Many were forced to abandon their cars, to get out of harms way.
Then they were told to evacuate because of the tanker hauling acid. They were taken to a Red Cross shelter set up at a school in Galesburg.
For those who were sucked into the chain-reaction, the follow-up has been expensive and frustrating.
McDonalds wreckers towed most of them, they are reportedly charging a $250 towing fee.
They have the cars and trucks scattered over four storage locations and don’t have a very good record of where they are being kept.
Lt. Rick Pazder says several were not destroyed by the pile-up, but by the fires that followed. Some have been burned beyond recognition.
Folks who abandoned slightly damaged vehicles may find nothing but a burned out shell at the storage lot.
Some of the owners involved don’t live here and were just passing through, and now have to sort all this out from long distance.
Then there is dealing with the insurance companies.
State Police are asking the public for any pictures or video they may have of Friday’s chain reaction on I-94, to help them piece together what happened. They will also be doing interviews with the drivers involved and any eyewitnesses.
It’s not expected to be an easy process and may take some weeks.
Cleaning up the mess on I-94 took nearly 40-hours and while that may seem like a long time, emergency responders had some vexing and potentially dangerous issues to deal with.That Semi-hauling 40-thousand pounds of fireworks is said to still be smoldering.
It was taken to a remote location at Fort Custer where it can burn itself out safely.
A tanker loaded with volatile formic acid was freezing up, the chemical was getting thick and difficult to transfer to another tanker.
Agencies say their response was also hampered by the intense cold and slippery conditions that caused the wreck in the first place, and by limited resources.
The westbound lanes were opened late Saturday night. The Eastbound lanes, where the fires occurred, was finally opened about 5 hours later. There was some pitting to the surface of the interstate and a sign has been posted warning drivers of the rough ride.
