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Massive Pileup On I-94

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

COOLSPRING TOWNSHIP - No one was seriously injured in a pileup on Interstate 94 when 27 vehicles - including 12 semis - stacked up Wednesday underneath the Johnson Road overpass.

"I was coming down that hill there and all of a sudden I saw all these cars and trucks flaring left and right," said Todd Skiles, of Westland, Mich. Skiles stood next to his van following the wreck under the overpass. "Everybody started smashing up. Then I saw this semi coming from behind.

"If (the semi driver) wasn't such a great driver, this could've been a lot worse."

Michigan City Fire Inspector Kyle Kazmierzcak said at the scene no one was seriously injured in the chain-reaction wreck likely caused by a combination of whiteout conditions and slick roads.

The pileup was widely reported, with live video from La Porte County showing up on CNN and MSNBC cable networks. Indiana State Police Sgt. Ann Wojas said five people were slightly injured in the pileup. In addition to poor visibility, police said excessive speed was a contributing factor.

Just after 7 a.m. when the pileup happened, the Michigan City area was experiencing heavy lake effect snow due to one of a series of snow squalls coming off Lake Michigan.

The pileup brought westbound traffic on I-94 to a standstill, and emergency responders from across La Porte County went to the scene. Several Michigan City police units, as well as La Porte County sheriff's deputies arrived to help Indiana State Police unravel what happened.

Wojas said the wreck happened three miles east of the U.S. 421 exit.

According to the Indiana Department of Transport-ation, six miles of I-94 between U.S. 35 and U.S. 421 was closed until 2:20 p.m. After traffic was diverted to U.S. 20, near gridlock conditions existed on Michigan City's south side. Westbound traffic was backed up for at least four miles from the U.S. 20 and U.S. 421 intersection as it slowly snaked its way through the city.

Besides cleaning up the debris, some 350 gallons of diesel fuel also had to be cleaned up by La Porte County Hazmat, Wojas said. She said at least two of the semis spilled their contents. They were hauling general merchandise and concrete fire bricks.

Affected drivers were walking around the scene in single-digit temperatures, taking in the damage done to their vehicles and explaining the accident to emergency responders.

Others were staying warm in their vehicles and keeping their children - and in some cases, pets - company while traffic was stopped. Police said more than 50 vehicles were stranded on the highway behind the accident.

Semis had jackknifed into one another, and the back half of a full-size passenger van was pushed up onto an inclined embankment underneath the overpass. Its front end was embedded in the engine compartment of a semi tractor.

Several semis had slammed into each other, including one whose driver jackknifed the cab just in time to avoid striking the rear of another semi trailer in front of him.

The two trailers stopped just inches from each other.

Caston, Mich., resident Haldon Gilkes - the driver hailed by Skiles - said he came upon the accident quickly, but had trouble seeing it because of the heavy snow.

He managed to slide his semi to a stop directly under the overpass with just feet on either side of his truck between himself and other crashed vehicles.

"My job is to stop," he said. "I could hardly see anything. Everything got here so quickly. By the time I saw it, I was sliding."

Norm Stangland, an employee with the Better Business Bureau in South Bend, came to rest unharmed less than 30 yards east of the scene. He said conditions were nearly unfit to drive in.

"I got here and I just started sliding, as did everybody else," he said. "All I could do was hang on. I got out of my car and I could barely walk on the road."

Wojas said from the time the pileup was reported until noon, Indiana State Police were called to cover 93 crashes in the district.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Michigan City Area Schools, as well as the city's parochial schools, canceled classes and all extra-curricular activities because of concerns about more lake effect snow.

COOLSPRING TOWNSHIP — No one was seriously injured in a pileup on Interstate 94 when 27 vehicles — including 12 semis — stacked up Wednesday underneath the Johnson Road overpass. “I was coming down that hill there and all of a sudden I saw all these cars and trucks flaring left and right,” said Todd Skiles, of Westland, Mich. Skiles stood next to his van following the wreck under the overpass. “Everybody started smashing up. Then I saw this semi coming from behind. “If (the semi driver) wasn’t such a great driver, this could’ve been a lot worse.” Michigan City Fire Inspector Kyle Kazmierzcak said at the scene no one was seriously injured in the chain-reaction wreck likely caused by a combination of whiteout conditions and slick roads. The pileup was widely reported, with live video from La Porte County showing up on CNN and MSNBC cable networks. Indiana State Police Sgt. Ann Wojas said five people were slightly injured in the pileup. In addition to poor visibility, police said excessive speed was a contributing factor. Just after 7 a.m. when the pileup happened, the Michigan City area was experiencing heavy lake effect snow due to one of a series of snow squalls coming off Lake Michigan. The pileup brought westbound traffic on I-94 to a standstill, and emergency responders from across La Porte County went to the scene. Several Michigan City police units, as well as La Porte County sheriff’s deputies arrived to help Indiana State Police unravel what happened. Wojas said the wreck happened three miles east of the U.S. 421 exit. According to the Indiana Department of Transport-ation, six miles of I-94 between U.S. 35 and U.S. 421 was closed until 2:20 p.m. After traffic was diverted to U.S. 20, near gridlock conditions existed on Michigan City’s south side. Westbound traffic was backed up for at least four miles from the U.S. 20 and U.S. 421 intersection as it slowly snaked its way through the city. Besides cleaning up the debris, some 350 gallons of diesel fuel also had to be cleaned up by La Porte County Hazmat, Wojas said. She said at least two of the semis spilled their contents. They were hauling general merchandise and concrete fire bricks. Affected drivers were walking around the scene in single-digit temperatures, taking in the damage done to their vehicles and explaining the accident to emergency responders. Others were staying warm in their vehicles and keeping their children — and in some cases, pets — company while traffic was stopped. Police said more than 50 vehicles were stranded on the highway behind the accident. Semis had jackknifed into one another, and the back half of a full-size passenger van was pushed up onto an inclined embankment underneath the overpass. Its front end was embedded in the engine compartment of a semi tractor. Several semis had slammed into each other, including one whose driver jackknifed the cab just in time to avoid striking the rear of another semi trailer in front of him. The two trailers stopped just inches from each other. Caston, Mich., resident Haldon Gilkes — the driver hailed by Skiles — said he came upon the accident quickly, but had trouble seeing it because of the heavy snow. He managed to slide his semi to a stop directly under the overpass with just feet on either side of his truck between himself and other crashed vehicles. “My job is to stop,” he said. “I could hardly see anything. Everything got here so quickly. By the time I saw it, I was sliding.” Norm Stangland, an employee with the Better Business Bureau in South Bend, came to rest unharmed less than 30 yards east of the scene. He said conditions were nearly unfit to drive in. “I got here and I just started sliding, as did everybody else,” he said. “All I could do was hang on. I got out of my car and I could barely walk on the road.” Wojas said from the time the pileup was reported until noon, Indiana State Police were called to cover 93 crashes in the district. Early Wednesday afternoon, Michigan City Area Schools, as well as the city’s parochial schools, canceled classes and all extra-curricular activities because of concerns about more lake effect snow. Contact reporter Jason Miller at jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com