CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Canton Township Department of Public Safety has released bodycam footage that shows first responders working to rescue people from a fiery crash involving a semi and an SUV on Wednesday.
The crash left four people in the vehicles and semi injured, along with six police officers. Since then, the six first responders and semi driver have been released from the hospital. The three people in the SUV remain hospitalized.
Video from three different officers show them assisting victims, including putting out fires on their bodies, as well as dragging them away from the scene before an explosion is heard.
You can see the redacted and blurred bodycam below. Caution: It may be hard to watch for some people
Police say the driver of the Jeep was speeding and going in the wrong direction on Haggerty Rd. It collided with a box truck, then struck the fuel tank of the semi, which ignited the fire.
“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.
The police department is continuing to investigate and will turn over the investigation to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review of charges.
Watch Darren Cunningham's video report below from Wednesday:
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.”
“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.”
Watch video of the crash from outside the gas station
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.
