150-car pileup on Michigan interstate during snowstorm leaves one dead

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A crash involving 100 vehicles this morning on I-94 between Battle Creek and Galesburg killed one person, injured 16 and closed the freeway, drawing an areawide response from police, fire, rescue and community resources.

Some vehicles were burning in the smashup west of Exit 92, including a truck that carried fireworks. Shortly before noon, those fireworks caught fire, causing an extended display of aerial explosions.

Michigan State Police confirmed one fatality in the crash. Area hospitals reported treating 16 patients; one remained in serious condition about 1 p.m.

I-94 is closed in both directions from Exit 88 east of Galesburg to Exit 92 west of Battle Creek, the Michigan Department of Transportation said.

Only a few vehicles were involved in what Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard C. Fuller said was the first crash at the scene about halfway between Battle Creek and Galesburg. That occurred in the eastbound lanes. Quickly, vehicles began to pile up in the westbound lanes of the freeway, slamming one after another into vehicles ahead and the median barrier. Crashed vehicles stretched for hundreds of yards in the westbound lanes.

Battle Creek police and fire crews joined the response to the crash, city officials said. And two Battle Creek Transit buses were dispatched to the scene to carry uninjured crash victims from the scene, where it was 12 degrees late this morning, to a Galesburg-Augusta school serving as a warming shelter.

© Trace Christenson,

Firefighters battle one of the truck fires in eastbound lanes on I-94 between Battle Creek and Galesburg, Mich.

The crash was reported about 10 a.m. By 1 p.m., it appeared that most of the victims had been transported from the scene.

Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo received four patients from the crash. One had been in critical condition, but all five were reported to be in good condition early this afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Wyllie said. She said six other patients were taken to Bronson Battle Creek with minor injuries.

Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo received six patients from the crash; one was in serious condition, while the others were listed as "fair," according to spokesman Lew Tysman.

As wreckage continued to burn early this afternoon, police briefly asked those within one mile of the crash scene to stay inside if they have not already been evacuated.

"Hazmat officials believe that hazardous material that was on scene is probably entirely burned off by now, so what we're asking for now is for shelter in place, where anyone within one mile of the crash scene, we're just asking them if they have not evacuated to stay inside, said Michigan State Police Lt. Rick Pazder.

No other homes need to be evacuated, he said.

Pazder said there is one confirmed fatality, but "It's unknown if there are others at this point."

He said it's believed there were more than 100 vehicles involved. Pazder said it was difficult to get emergency crews close to tally up the vehicles because of the ongoing fire.

I-94 is expected to remain shut down for an estimated 12 hours, he said

Battle Creek police asked area residents to stay off the roads if possible today as officers respond to many crashes across the area and devote resources to the I-94 crash.

© Trace Christenson/