Cold delays interstate reopening after 193-car pileup

GALESBURG, Mich. — Westbound lanes of Interstate 94 in southwestern Michigan finally reopened early today, following an extraordinary pileup on the snowy highway that included 193 vehicles, Michigan State Police officials said.

Earlier efforts to reopen the highway stalled Saturday as crews tried to safely remove acid from a tanker truck, one of several vehicles involved in the pileup Friday morning. Police said acid needed to be drained from the tanker into a transport vehicle parked in the westbound lanes before the tanker could be removed.

Eastbound lanes remain closed as crews continued to remove the remaining semis, and will be inspected before they can reopen.

“Once we get the trucks out of there, (the Michigan Department of Transportation) will check the conditions of the freeway to see if there’s any damage,” Michigan State Public Information Officer Lt. David Wood told MLive.com.

The number of vehicles involved in crashes Friday has fluctuated, but state police finally settled on 193, including dozens of semis. A Canadian trucker, Jean Larocque, 57, of Saint-Chrysostome, Quebec, was killed and about two dozen people were taken to hospitals.

State police Lt. Dale Hinz said towing so many vehicles was “brutal” overnight, with temperatures barely above zero.

Ryan Bovee, 35, said his car was struck by a van, although he was allowed to drive away a few hours after the chain of crashes in Kalamazoo County, 150 miles east of Chicago.

“You just kept hearing the crunches of the vehicles hitting,” he said. It was unreal.”