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I-196 shut down in west Michigan after 100-car pileup in whiteout conditions

a screen grab from a live camera recording of emergency personnel arriving to a pileup on WB i96 near Zeeland Michigan after heavy snowfall.
MDOT
Heavy snowfall and hazardous road conditions resulted in a more than 100 car pileup on westbound I-196 in Zeeland Township, Michigan, on Monday January 19.

More than 100 vehicles, including dozens of semitrucks, crashed in a massive pileup on I-196 in Zeeland Township Monday morning, officials said.

Both directions of the highway were shut down midway between Grand Rapids and Holland.

The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said there were no fatalities, but between nine and 12 people were injured and taken to local hospitals by ambulance.

Photo and video showed trucks jackknifed across the highway and the median, and numerous cars strewn across the road.

Officials called in buses from the Hudsonville Public School District and the Holland area public transit system to take stranded motorists to Hudsonville High School.

Crews were still working to clear the road and reopen the highway on Monday afternoon.

Michigan State Police said another multiple-vehicle crash had also shut down southbound US-131 in Grand Rapids Monday as a winter storm warning covered the region and was expected to continue into Tuesday.

"Road conditions are treacherous. Blowing winds and blinding snow are creating dangerous travel conditions," MSP said. "Driving beyond your ability increases the risk for serious crashes. If you must travel, slow down, increase following distance, and use extreme caution."

Dustin Dwyer reports enterprise and long-form stories from Michigan Public’s West Michigan bureau. He was a fellow in the class of 2018 at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. He’s been with Michigan Public since 2004, when he started as an intern in the newsroom.
Brett joined Michigan Public in December 2021 as an editor.
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