Crash Closes I-94 at St. Joe/Benton Harbor

A five-mile eastbound stretch of I-94 was closed for 12 hours Wednesday 2/6/08. A woman lost control of her SUV in the far left passing lane and spun into the rear of a van in the far right lane. The van then spun into the center lane on the river bridge where it was struck by a semi. When the semi driver hit his brakes, he was rear-ended by another semi. That second truck leaked transmission fluid and engine oil onto the road. A third semi hit both the SUV and the side of one of the semis, splitting it open a spilling a portion of its load of paint. That third semi spilled about 100 gallons of diesel fuel onto the bridge. There was only one minor injury.

Firefighters dammed the road's drainage system to keep the fuel from running into the river. The accident happened at 8:46 a.m. The second and third semis could not be moved until 3:00 p.m. With the drainage system blocked, the road filled up with rain. A vacuum truck was requested from Grand Rapids, but it was tied up with a job at Holland until 5:00 p.m.; and then was slowed en route by dangerous road conditions. An estimated 1,500-gallon mix of rainwater and diesel fuel had pooled on the road.

Eastbound I-94 was reopened at 9:00 p.m. At times, traffic was backed up for ten miles, as far away as Bridgman.

I was on the road in my car that day, and had a medical appointment in Bridgeman. I did not get caught in the traffic jam, but saw the accident when our intention to get on I-94 was blocked by a fire truck. The cashier at Meijer said she had been caught in the back-up for over an hour and was late for work.

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