A miracle there were no serious injuries or deaths.
Posted on 02/13/2006 11:43:03 AM PST by holymoly
(Update, Muskegon County, February 13, 2006, 12:08 p.m.) Police say they will likely not issue any tickets in this weekend's 86-vehicle pile-up. The massive pile-up on US-31 in Muskegon County shut down a two-mile stretch of the expressway for several hours.
Police say it happened just after 1 p.m. Sunday when the highway was covered with black ice and conditions were white-out from lake effect snow. Drivers say the sun was shining as far south as Sherman Boulevard. But when northbound motorists approached Laketon Avenue, the white-out began. Vehicles at the front of the pile-up began slowing down, but the drivers in back did not notice until it was too late, causing a chain-reaction of crashes.
Several vehicles caught fire. Witness descriptions are those of chaos as drivers tried to escape.
One woman got help saving her infant son. "She was panicking. Her car was on fire, and she couldn't get out. So, she just passed the baby through the window. We kind of got him up to the hill and helped some other people out of their car and stuff," said Laurie Devries.
Most of the vehicle fires were quickly extinguished. Nobody was seriously hurt, though 25 people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The director of the Musekgon Public Safety Department says a number of factors helped keep the injuries low, including the crash happened on a Sunday and there was lighter semi truck traffic.
But he says the reaction of drivers when they hit the snow-line was the biggest factor.
"It's been a case of people seeing what was ahead and wisely slowed down, knowing they're going into at least a cloud of snow and at that point how low the visibility would be," said Chief Tony Kliebecker.
He says the department won't likely write tickets because it is tough to place the blame on drivers when Mother Nature was the real culprit. He adds that it doesn't appear there was much anyone could have done.
A miracle there were no serious injuries or deaths.
Cripes, it almost looks like a scene from "The Blues Brothers" movie!
there were several accidents like this when i lived in mi.
white outs come with no warning on the open highways there.
soooooo thankful and amazed no one was seriously injured!
They broke my watch!
Bumper bullies suck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.