A stretch of westbound I-696 in Farmington Hills was shut down for hours following a traffic crash that killed two people and injured two others Thursday morning.
The Michigan State Police reported that a husband and wife from Hawks, Michigan, him 72 and her 69, were killed in the crash.
Motorists were advised to avoid the freeway in the area of I-275 and Orchard Lake Road for the next several hours as the crash wass investigated. All westbound traffic in the area was routed off the freeway at the Orchard Lake Road exit, and considerable backups have continued all day.
Michigan State Police were on the scene at around 10:15 a.m. after the crash was reported. A preliminary investigation shows a 57-year-old driver of a semi truck was westbound on I-696 toward westbound I-96 and couldn’t stop for traffic, rear-ending a Buick LaCrosse. That caused a chain reaction involving three other vehicles, police said.
MDOT reported at about 7 p.m. that the freeway reopened.
The LaCrosse’s driver and passenger were killed instantly, police said. Two other drivers were transported to local hospitals with injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening, police said.
The investigation also revealed that another vehicle, a semi truck with blue lettering, was possibly struck, but the driver might not be aware of it, police said. The vehicle should have passenger-side damage, police said.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, police said the stretch of freeway was expected to remain closed for several more hours.
Michigan State Police asks that anyone that witnessed the crash and who hasn’t yet spoken with troopers is asked to call 248-584-5740.
