PORTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Over 100 vehicles were involved in a pileup on I-96 in Ionia County on Saturday, according to state troopers.
"You're going 35 miles an hour, my husband was driving, and it was like we couldn't see anything and then all of a sudden...a massive car crash," Jenny Campbell, who was part of the pileup, told FOX 17 on Saturday.
This video, sent in by a viewer, shows some of the aftermath of the pileup:
Troopers responded to the pileup in the eastbound lanes of I-96 between mile markers 73 and 76 in Portland Township, Michigan State Police said just after 5 p.m. Saturday.
"We hit on the front end, like, when we crashed," Campbell recalled. "Then we had a car that crashed on the left and the car ended up kind of coming on the right, and then also got rear-ended."
MSP added, around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the westbound side of the freeway also shut down after an additional crash on that side.
Michigan State Police said around 5:45 p.m. that vehicles not involved in the crash are able to exit the freeway to clear congestion and let troopers help those who are involved.
A warming and family reunification center was set up at the Portland Church of Nazarene for those involved in the pileup.
Buses helped transport people to the church, which is at 9466 Cutler Road.
"So grateful for this community and, like, it just makes me feel really good that people can come together and help such a tragic situation," Campbell added.
Anyone involved in the crash could get picked up from the church after giving their information to state police.
"When the accident scene is this big, we have to account for all the vehicles, all the occupants and make sure that we have the sequence of events correctly," Lt. Jack Pieters, with the Ionia County Sheriff's Office, explained. "That could take some time."
MSP says there were injuries, but none of them seem to be serious and there were no deaths.
"We're extremely fortunate that there were no fatalities," Lt. Pieters added.
On Sunday, state troopers gave an updated tally of damages and injuries, saying 150 total vehicles were involved. 84 of those cars were damaged, while 66 cars were reported as slide-offs and did not sustain damages.
MSP says 16 people were taken to the hospital, but did not provide updates on their conditions.
Crews say low visibility and whiteout conditions on the freeway caused this massive crash.
Both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the freeway reopened just after 10 p.m. Saturday.
