Driver seriously injured in I-96 police car crash in Eaton County
A DeWitt man suffered serious injuries when his car collided with an unoccupied Michigan State Police patrol car and a semitruck late Wednesday.
Michigan State Police said the crash happened Oct. 14 on westbound I-96 near Lansing Road in Eaton County's Windsor Township. Lansing Post troopers had closed the right lane while a tow truck worked to remove another semitruck from a ditch.
The patrol car was parked in the closed lane with its emergency lights on, and flares had been placed on the road while traffic was moving in the left lane.
Police said the man moved into the right lane to pass a semitruck and hit the patrol car from behind. His car then continued into the left lane, where it collided with the truck he had been trying to pass.
He was taken to a Lansing hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. No troopers or the semitruck driver were injured.
Westbound I-96 was closed for several hours but reopened shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday. The crash remains under investigation.
What does Michigan's move-over law require?
Drivers approaching and passing a stopped emergency vehicle with its warning lights on must slow down and give it room. Under MCL 257.653a, drivers on a road with at least two lanes going in the same direction must slow to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit and move into a lane at least one moving lane or two vehicle widths away, unless a police officer directs otherwise.
If traffic, weather or road conditions prevent them from moving, drivers must still slow to at least 10 mph below the limit and pass with care, or follow an officer's directions. The same slowing requirement applies when there aren't two lanes going in the same direction. The law doesn't require these actions for an emergency vehicle stopped across a highway's dividing space or barrier.
Moving over doesn't permit an unsafe lane change. As Michigan Legal Center explains in its discussion of Michigan merging and lane-change crashes, drivers moving between marked lanes must first make sure the move can be made safely.
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If you were injured in a Michigan highway crash, contact Michigan Legal Center to discuss the accident and ask about your legal options.
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