CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Nine people, including four police officers, were injured in a fiery crash that involved a wrong-way driver and a semi in Canton Township on Wednesday afternoon.
The crash happened in the area of Ford and Haggerty roads. The intersection closed closed for several hours. The I-275 ramp to Ford Road also closed in both directions.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below:
Watch Brittany Toolis' video report below:
Watch video of the crash from outside the gas station
Police say the driver of a Jeep was speeding and going in the wrong direction, hitting a semi in the intersection.
“The information we have at this time is the passenger vehicle was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed in the northbound lanes,” Canton interim Police Chief Joseph Bialy said.
Bialy says the fiery and smoky conditions only got worse as officers tried pulling the victims from the burning Jeep.
“This is a scene that no first responder ever wants to go to,” Bialy said. “Our officers and our firefighters were heroic in the actions that they took today.”
He says it’s believed the driver of the Jeep hit a fuel cell on the semi after driving the wrong way.
Investigators are working to determine what exactly led up to the crash.
“The car exploded in front of us,” said Derrick Farrow, who says he was driving west on Ford Road when he saw the smoke and police officers scurrying to help those involved.
Farrow also rushed to help the victims.
“Just kept dragging dude back," Farrow said. "I stayed with him for quite a while.”
According to the Canton Public Safety Department, a total of nine people were taken to the hospital — five in the vehicles involved and four police officers who were working to rescue those trapped in the vehicle.
Some of the injuries are considered minor, while others are listed as critical. A specific breakdown of injuries was not provided.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life — to see somebody on fire and to see the way we all kinda came together and put him out and drag him back," Farrow said. "I got down on my knees and I held his hand and we were praying together.”
Farrow has this message for the victim: “you gon’ be alright, bro, no matter what, no matter what’s the outcome of this. It might take you a while to walk or whatever, but just keep going, that’s for sure. You’re powerful, brother.”
Dangers of Ford Road
According to a three-year study, there were a staggering 1,000 crashes along Ford Road near I-275 in Canton. That has prompted MDOT to propose a boulevard solution to improve safety and reduce congestion.
Watch below: MDOT plans boulevard to address Ford Road safety concerns in Canton
The boulevard would transform Ford Road from Lotz Road, east of I-275 to just west of Sheldon Road, similar to parts of Woodward Avenue where drivers make U-turns to access businesses on the opposite side.
MDOT's three-year study from 2016 to 2019 examined 10 intersections with signals, four intersections without signals and six ramps on the I-275 and Ford interchange. The results showed higher-than-average crash rates and significant travel delays throughout the corridor.
Jeff Horne, project manager with MDOT, identified a recurring crash pattern along the corridor.
"We are noticing a lot of angle crashes on the westbound Ford Road. If there are three lanes there, two lanes will stop and then the third lane, cars will continuously drive through and cars will turn left into that business, and then they will get hit by that vehicle in that third lane there, so we call those courtesy crashes. With a boulevard, we won't have that," Horne said.
When construction begins in 2028 and 2029, traffic will be reduced to one lane open in each direction, with the center lane open, which raises concerns about traffic flow.
