WITNESSES: First-hand accounts of I-75 multi-vehicle accident that killed three, injured several

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Witnesses gave 7 Action News first-hand accounts of what happened before, during and after the mutli-vehicle accident that killed three people along I-75 in southwest Detroit.

Michigan State Police confirm three fatalities following the multiple vehicle crash. Police say two of the victims were a 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl from Ontario. A 54-year-old man from Allen Park was also killed, according to family members.

Children from Ontario among the dead in massive I-75 pileup in southwest Detroit

"A whiteout hit real hard... I could hear the smashing and banging going on behind me," said one semi-truck driver. "I saw firemen using the jaws of life, it was just a mess," he added.

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One woman who's husband was involved in the accident told 7 Action News, "I managed to get up to the barricade and found my husband's car. I pointed to it and I said 'Can you just please have him wave out the window?'"

"He actually came out of the vehicle and waived and said I'm OK."

The pileup happened in southwest Detroit around 9:00 a.m. Thursday and caused a section of I-75 from Springwells to Schaefer to close for several hours. The southbound lanes were also closed for most of the day. All lanes have since reopened.

YOU CAN WATCH WITNESS ACCOUNTS IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE.

An earlier article reported that the Michigan State Police confirmed four people had died in the accident. The police have since revised that fatality number to three.