UPDATE: Police identify 2 victims from I-96 pileup
UPDATE: The final tally of vehicles involved in the Interstate 96 crash near Fowlerville is 53, according to a statement from the Livingston County Sheriff Department.
Authorities identified two of the three people involved as Homer Leon Tew, 69, and Theresa O'Connor Tew, 62. The married couple is from Ann Arbor. Police have been unable to notify the next of kin of the third victim, a 28-year-old man from Hollywood, Florida.
Three people were killed and 11 injured in a pileup of approximately 40 vehicles along Interstate 96 Thursday morning amid white-out conditions.
The pileup happened about 9:45 a.m. on westbound I-96 west of Fowlerville Road and east of Wallace Road.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Livingston County Sheriff Lt. Eric Sanborn said the three people killed were in two separate vehicles and declared dead at the scene. Sanborn said those killed likely won’t be identified before Friday.
None of the 11 additional people taken from the scene to local hospitals had life-threatening injuries, Sanborn said.
Other people involved in the crash were taken to Fowlerville's police department and village hall to give statements and reunite with family or friends.
The crash is believed to be weather related, Sanborn said, but it remains under investigation. He said it's still unclear which vehicle started the chain reaction.
Eastbound I-96 at M-52 was closed for several hours to allow first responders access to the scene. Westbound I-96 between M-59 and M-52 remained closed until about 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Between 50 and 75 first responders from departments across Livingston and Ingham counties assisted at the scene of the crash, Sanborn said.
The crash happened as a narrow band of heavy snow moved through the area, said Cort Scholten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids. Scholten said the snow likely decreased visibility significantly and, with temperatures in the mid-20s, made the roads icier.
The same winter weather led to dozens of other crashes in the Lansing area Thursday morning, including about 15 in Eaton County. An accident total in Ingham County wasn't available, although Ingham County Sheriff's officials said they responded to about 15 crashes.
Eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 96 at Okemos Road closer to Lansing were closed due to traffic crashes earlier Thursday morning, according to Ingham County 911. That area of roadway has since been reopened.
Detroit Free Press Reporter Kathleen Gray was driving along I-96 westbound between the Williamston and Okemos Road exits when a smaller crash happened.
Gray said it took place about 9:30 a.m. amid white-out snow conditions on roads coated in a thin sheet of ice. A semi-truck jack knifed across most of the lanes of the expressway, Gray said. About a dozen cars and trucks ended up in ditches, and dozens others were smashed. She wasn't hit.
"For me, the most terrifying sounds I’ve ever heard was the sound of semi-truck tires skidding on the ice behind me and I had nowhere to go because traffic was at a stand-still," Gray said in an email. "Fortunately, he was able to stop before plowing into me."
No serious injuries resulted from the several crashes near westbound I-96 and Okemos Road, according to Ingham County Sheriff Sgt. Ted Harrison.
Blowing snow and low temperatures impacted driving conditions on most area expressways, said Rob Dale, of the Ingham County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, with icy patches developing in certain areas.
“That’s the biggest problem,” he said. “Drivers are going along at 80 because it's fine and then they hit a patch of ice.”
Contact Beth LeBlanc at (517) 377-1167, eleblanc@gannett.com, or on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc.