MICHIGAN CITY | Syed Neqvi has driven a semi for 15 years without an accident or a traffic ticket, he said. (View additional photos of the pileup.)
But in Wednesday morning's snow, his was one of 27 vehicles involved in a pileup that plugged Interstate 94's westbound lanes near Michigan City for seven hours.
"This is not even my load. It's my co-worker's load, but he's a friend of mine and his son is sick," Neqvi said.
Twelve semitrailers and 15 cars piled up about 7:10 a.m. in the westbound lanes just east of U.S. 421, an Indiana State Police trooper said. Whiteout conditions from lake-effect snow caused the wreck, the trooper said. The accident blocked all westbound lanes from the Michigan state line to the accident at the Johnson Road overpass. Police and tow trucks finished cleaning up the wreck about 2 p.m.
Neqvi said the road was slippery.
"I was only going 45," said Neqvi, of Mississauga, Ontario.
"The road was slippery and there was no salt, nothing. The first car and a semi-truck crashed a little bit, but the truck just stopped right in the middle of the highway and there was no way to stop. I turned sideways and I had no chance."
His semitrailer slid sideways and hit the pile. Vehicles continued to slide into Neqvi's trailer and cab. The wreck hurt his ear and shoulder. Neqvi refused treatment at the scene.
Eight people were reported taken to St. Anthony Memorial Hospital in Michigan City. One person was admitted for a broken leg and facial cuts.
Neqvi's fuel tank leaked diesel fuel after the crash and crews pumped the fuel into barrels on the back of a pickup truck. Neqvi's trailer spilled its contents onto the road, as did other semitrailers. Crews with forklifts and small bulldozers removed the debris and restored traffic flow.
Traffic backed up after the crash, causing at least four more wrecks along I-94 east of the pileup.
Police rerouted traffic south on U.S. 35 and west on U.S. 20, which caused gridlock on roads in Michigan City and LaPorte.
Wednesday's accident on I-94 was one of many crashes caused by snow.
