Police: Weather Likely A Factor In Crash That Killed 82-Year-Old Passenger
Milan, Mich. (WWJ) - At least one person was killed and two others injured in an accident involving multiple semi-trucks and cars in Monroe County.
Michigan State Police Lieutenant Tony Cuevas says investigators used a drone and took measurements to try to piece together just what caused the crash in heavy rain.
Cuevas believes a 47-year-old Monroe woman's car began to hydroplane while driving northbound on US 23.
"She is in the right lane, she loses control and hits a vehicle in the left lane - she hits the median wall and comes back across US 23 sideways, with her passenger side exposed, and then her vehicle is hit by a semi," said Cuevas.
The woman's 82-year-old mother who was in the passenger seat died in the crash. The crash set off a chain-reaction causing multiple accidents to occur.
"She (the driver) was injured and she received treatment at St. Joseph Hospital -- as far as why she lost control? That was during a period of heavy rainfall and from the information we are gathering she either hydroplaned or lost traction in the rain."
Police are not releasing the names of the woman who died or the injured.
WWJ spoke with Milan Township Supervisor Phil Heath immediately after the accident he said this stretch of pavement has had its share of issues, especially in the rain.
"If anybody travels 23, they know it," Heath said. "You come down under the train tracks at Cone Road, you come under them at Milan again. There's two sets."
"There's been problems in the past with water pooling up underneath there and people hydroplaning," Heath said. "There's kind of a dip and a curve all combined together. It has a history…and you end up with a situation like this."
It's not clear at this time if the driver will face charges.
For the latest from the roads, stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 during Traffic and Weather on the 8s, 24-hours a day. Check for recent incidents now on the CBS Detroit Traffic Page.