100 vehicles pile up in Michigan crash as snowstorm moves across the country

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — More than 100 vehicles crashed or slid on Michigan’s highway Monday as Great Lakes-fed snow blanketed the state.

The massive pileup prompted Michigan State Police to close both directions of Interstate 196 Monday morning, just southwest of Grand Rapids, as authorities worked to remove all vehicles, including more than 30 tractor-trailers. State police reported numerous injuries, but no deaths were reported.

Pedro Mata Jr. said he could barely see the cars in front of him as snow blew onto the road while he was driving 20-25 mph before the crash. He managed to stop his van safely, but then decided to pull his truck off the road into the central reservation to avoid being hit from behind.

“It was a little scary listening to everything, the bangs and the booms behind you. I saw what was in front of me. I couldn’t see exactly what was behind me,” Mata said.

This accident is just the latest impact from the major winter storm sweeping across the country. The National Weather Service issued warnings of either extremely cold temperatures or the risk of winter storms in several states, starting in northern Minnesota and extending south and east to Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

A day earlier, snow fell as far south as the Florida Panhandle and made it harder for football players to hold on to the ball during playoff games in Massachusetts and Chicago. Forecasters warned Monday that freezing temperatures would be possible Tuesday night across much of north-central Florida and southeast Georgia.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan said several crashes and jackknifed tractor-trailers were reported, as well as numerous cars sliding off the road. Stranded motorists were transported by bus to Hudsonville High School, where they could call for help or arrange a ride.

Officials expected the road to be closed for several hours during the cleanup.

One of the companies helping remove the stuck cars, Grand Valley Towing, sent more than a dozen of its trucks to the scene of the chain-reaction accident. Several towing companies responded in extremely cold weather.

“We’re trying to get as many vehicles out as quickly as possible, so we can reopen the road,” Director Jeff Westveld said.

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Associated Press writers Julie Walker contributed from New York and Josh Funk from Omaha, Nebraska.