HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) — More than 100 vehicles smashed into each other or slid off the interstate in Michigan on Monday as snow fueled by the Great Lakes blanketed the state.
The massive pileup prompted the Michigan State Police to close both directions of Interstate 196 Monday morning just southwest of Grand Rapids as while officials worked to remove all the vehicles, including more than 30 semitrailer trucks. The State Police said there were numerous injuries, but no deaths had been reported.
The crash is just the latest impact of the major winter storm moving across the country. The National Weather Service issued warnings about either extremely cold temperatures or the potential for winter storms across several states starting in northern Minnesota and stretching south and east into Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
A day earlier, snow fell as far south as the Florida Panhandle and made it harder for football players to hang onto the ball during playoff games in Massachusetts and Chicago. Forecasters warned Monday that freezing temperatures are possible overnight into Tuesday across much of north-central Florida and southeast Georgia.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's office in Michigan said multiple crashes and jack-knifed semis were reported along with numerous cars that slid off the road. Stranded motorists were being bused to Hudsonville High School, where they could call for help or arrange a ride.
Officials expected the road to be closed for several hours during the cleanup.
One of the companies helping remove the stranded cars, Grand Valley Towing, sent more than a dozen of its trucks to the scene of the chain-reaction crash. Several towing companies responded in the brutally cold weather.
“We’re trying to get as many vehicles out of there as quickly as possible, so we can get the road opened back up,” manager Jeff Westveld said.
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Associated Press Writers Jule Walker contributed from New York and Josh Funk contributed from Omaha, Nebraska.
