Reports Of Crashes Rise As Wintry Storm Crosses Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ/AP) — Two people were hurt after their car hit the rear of a fire truck on a slick western Michigan freeway.
Officials said snowy and slippery conditions likely contributed to the Saturday morning crash on Interstate 196, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
The wreck was just one of dozens across the southern and middle part of the state as heavy snow fell from the first significant wintry storm of the season.
A 31-year-old man suffered a leg injury and his 26-year-old sister lost consciousness when their car became lodged beneath the fire truck that was on the freeway for an earlier accident, police said.
Three children in the car were taken to a hospital for observation.
Storm warnings and advisories were issued by the National Weather Service for some areas in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
About 5 inches of snow fell on Kalamazoo Saturday morning, meteorologist Nathan Jeruzal said.
Grand Rapids had about 3 inches of snow. Five to 8 inches was expected along a corridor from Battle Creek toward Port Huron. Some spots could get as much as 10 inches, Jeruzal said.
Huron Valley Ambulance Public Affairs Manager Joyce Williams told WWJ Newsradio 950 that her crews have seen just one serious crash on Washtenaw County roadways Saturday and that most of her calls have involved fender benders.
"Mostly property damage and not that many transports of serious injuries," Williams said. "The roads are slippery and it's the first snowfall of the season, people just aren't' used to it yet."
The weather made for tough driving conditions. More than 30 wrecks were reported along highways in Washtenaw County, dispatchers told The Ann Arbor News.
A bright spot is that much of the snow wasn't sticking.
"Conditions are slushy on the roadways," Muskegon County Emergency Services Director Dan Stout II told The Muskegon Chronicle. "The ground temperatures are around ... the 40s and that heat's on the ground keeping the snow from accumulating."
One high school football playoff game was postponed.
The Division 3 match between Coldwater and Chelsea was moved from Saturday to Sunday because Jackson High School officials determined they did not make the surface playable Saturday, Michigan High School Athletic Association spokesman John Johnson told The Associated Press.
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