VAN BUREN COUNTY (WKZO-AM) — A pair of chain-reaction collisions on Interstate 94 in Van Buren County late Friday morning left four people injured, caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage and created an environmental threat when 2,500 gallons of motor oil spilled from a semitrailer.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and a commercial environmental clean-up crew were called out to deal with the spill.
Lt. Dale Hinz said, of the four injured victims, only one was seriously hurt.
“The individual will recover, but they had some pretty serious bumps and bruises, cuts and such, from the crash,” Hinz said.
The first pileup involved nine cars and four semitrailers and occurred near the 59-mile marker at around 11 a.m. The second pileup, which occurred about a mile away, involved eight cars and six semitrailers, Michigan State Police said. Investigating the multiple collisions and cleaning up the wreckage diverted traffic onto Red Arrow Highway for a couple of hours.
The weather is expected to improve, but not until Saturday afternoon. Hinz said, if you don’t have to go anywhere this weekend, it’s best to stay home.
Several wrecks have also been reported on city streets.
– John McNeill
