UPDATE: Lodge Freeway reopens after semi fuel leak, closes near Outer Drive due to fatal crash
(CBS DETROIT) - A portion of the Lodge Freeway in Detroit has reopened after a hit-and-run involving a semi-truck led to a fuel leak, but a different area of the freeway is closed due to a traffic crash.
In an update at about 9:25 a.m., state police say traffic was stopped due to a semi-truck crash. An SUV was driving too fast and hit another vehicle from behind near Outer Driver. That vehicle was then pushed into another vehicle, which was pushed into a fourth vehicle.
Multiple people were injured, and the driver of the first vehicle that was struck died at the hospital. State police say the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
Lodge Update https://t.co/wrLjexHYIA
— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) December 13, 2023
At about 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 13, the Detroit Regional Communications Center received reports of a crash that was blocking traffic on northbound M-10 (Lodge) near 8 Mile Road.
When troopers arrived, they discovered a black Saab 93 blocking the right and center lanes and a semi-truck on the right shoulder.
MSP determined the driver in the Saab hit the semi-truck and then ran away from the scene.
The fuel tank of the semi-truck was damaged, and about 200 gallons of diesel fuel spilled across the freeway lanes.
The freeway was closed at northbound M-10 and 7 Mile Road but has since reopened.
No one was injured, and the suspect driver is at large.
"This is another example of a driver turning a crash into something more serious," said Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw. "If you are involved in a crash, stop and notify police. It really is that simple."