Police: Man Fled Accident with Cops to Catch Flight

After a massive pileup on I-94, fireworks from an involved semi-truck that caught fire caused an extended aerial display. (Photo via ‏@fatima_madsen/Twitter)

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Police didn’t say what flight a Troy man was so eager to board Friday that he fled a spin-out crash – with a Michigan State Police officer – and continued along snow-beaten I-275 toward the airport.

But imaginations during a cold, snowy morning commute in southeast Michigan morning might understandably have wandered far south, say to the white-sand beaches of the Caribbean.

Friday turned out to be the kind of day that motorists – and police responding to numerous accidents – would like to have escaped.

No matter the 74-year-old Troy man’s destination, his excuse that he was about to miss a flight didn’t curry much favor with the patrolman, who eventually boxed in the vehicle, WDIV-TV and the Detroit Free Press report.

The driver reportedly said that he knew he had hit something, but didn’t stop because he want stop because he wanted to make it to the airport.

No one was injured in the crash, which occurred around 6:50 Friday near Livonia.

The man, who wasn’t identified, was cited for leaving the scene of a crash and careless driving. It’s unclear if he boarded the plane on time.

Fireworks Explode in Massive Pile-Up

The crash was one of many, some of them deadly, on snow- and ice-covered roads around southeast Michigan Friday morning, WJBK-TV reports.

And in western Michigan, a massive pile-up around 10 a.m. killed one, injured at least 16 others and caused fires on trucks carrying hazardous materials and fireworks, the latter of which caused an extended display of aerial explosions.

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Police described the scene as “very chaotic” and asked drivers to avoid the area, both because of hazardous travel conditions and continued cleanup at the scene.A section of I-94 near Kalamazoo remained closed at 4:30 p.m. Police have increased their original estimate of the number of vehicles involved to 150 from 90, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Among those whose travel plans were interrupted by the massive pile-up were Jeff and Liz Skrzypek of Canton Township, who were en route to Chicago. They took a detour to avoid the fiery crash scene which sent towers of billowing black smoke into the air, but told The Detroit News their alternate route on Business Route I-94 was littered with stranded vehicles involved in minor crashes.

“On the way we saw a lot of cars off the road, several on the median and on the side of the road in ditches,” Liz Skrzypek said. “It’s weird because now it’s sunny and the roads are clear. It keeps changing. You’ll have white outs, then it’ll be nice and then it’ll be snowing again.”

Michigan State Police said it’s likely white-out conditions contributed to an accident near Milan that killed one person and injured another early Friday afternoon, The Detroit News reports. A dozen semi-trucks jackknifed on U.S. 23 near Willis Road and another 15 vehicles careened into the wreckage, police said.

”(U.S.) 23 was a solid sheet of ice,” Capt. Greg Payeur of Pittsfield Township Fire told the Free Press. “It was slipping and sliding everywhere – walking or driving.”

Another crash on U.S. 23 in Washtenaw County snarled traffic from Willow Road to the Monroe County line, and the route remains closed until further notice, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said.

Frigid overnight lows of -1 degree, with a wind chill factor of -15, are forecast, WJBK said. The winds will move the 2-4 inches of snow received in southeast Michigan around, making for continued dangerous travel conditions. Continued flurries are also possible.

A wind chill advisory remains in effect until noon Saturday, the National Weather Service says. It’ll be cold, with a high around 10 and wind chill values as low as -16. Temperatures moderate Sunday, with a forecast high near 27, but snow is expected to return Sunday night into Monday.