Blinding snow and high winds caused over 30 crashes in Detroit that left two children and one adult dead on Jan. 31 according to CBS News.
"It was a total white sheet," said Ken Czarnecki, a 47-year-old who was headed to Toledo, Ohio, to train kitchen and bath salespeople on a new computer system. "You couldn't see past the front of your car."
Police estimated that as many as 30 cars, SUVs and semi-trailers were "crushed, buckled or damaged." The freeway is often used during rush hour because it cuts through a heavily industrialized part of the city and nearby communities according to the Associated Press. Trucks are said to "dominate the interstate," some of which are transporting loads and liquids to a nearby processing plants and steel companies.
Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said it was hard to see when the crashes occurred on I-75 on the southwest side of the city. Over 13 people were brought to the hospital and other were treated at the scene according to Shaw.
The children who died, a 7-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl from Windsor, Ontario, were believed to be siblings whose parents were injured in the accident according to Shaw.
Rescue crews went to each vehicle in search for survivors and to provide aid according to the Associated Press.
It took nearly six hours before the freeway's southbound lanes were reopened. Shaw stated that it could take another day or so for investigators to figure out which vehicles were involved in the initial crash that started the others.
"It happened so fast. I've never seen anything like it," said Czarnecki to the Associated Press. "I actually controlled my speed pretty well. I don't think anyone was really speeding. People weren't zipping by me."
The bad weather has been the cause of multiple recent pileups in Michigan. U.S. 23 in Mundy Township was closed for several hours after nearly 33 vehicles crashed during a snow storm according to the Associated Press. In southwest Michigan, eight tractor-trailers crashed on I-94 which closed westbound lanes for several hours.
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