A portion of I-75 in Oakland County is causing concern when it comes to construction and vehicle crashes.
Watch Tiarra Braddock's video report:
On Tuesday night, a man lost his life in a car crash on the highway.
“He was an angel, he really was,” said Joe Fitzpatrick. “He was one of those people you only meet once.”
Joe Fitzpatrick’s brother, Nicholas Fitzpatrick, died after a car crash on I-75.
According to officials, Nicholas, who was 25 years old, crashed his car on I-75 near Grange Hall Road in Oakland County at around 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday.
Nicholas got out of his car and was standing near the left lane, and that’s when another vehicle struck his car. He was pushed onto the highway, and then another vehicle hit his body.
“He would feel worse about how they feel than what happened to him... I truly believe that,” said Joe Fitzpatrick. "He would hope that they were OK.”
Following Nicholas’s death, fire chiefs from Springfield Township, Groveland Township and the North Oakland County Fire Authority sent out a safety alert saying the ongoing construction on I-75 from Grand Blanc to Independence Township—especially southbound—is putting lives at risk.
“People are excessively driving, I mean they’re going too fast on that road,” said Chief Matt Covey of Springfield Township.
“It’s unfortunate because someone is having the worst day of their life or the end of their life has happened, and people are just impatient and people just want to get around, they don’t care,” said Chief Matt Weil of the North Oakland County Fire Authority.
Chief Covey and Chief Weil are urging people to take detour routes to avoid the construction.
“Take Dixie Highway, take M15, I don’t care, somewhere else, just stay off the expressway if you can,” said Weil.
Watch an extended interview with the fire chiefs below:
Weil and Covey added that they have talked to MDOT about making changes to the construction zone on that part of I-75.
I reached out to MDOT about the chiefs’ concerns and a spokesperson got back to me, saying MDOT is currently working on several initiatives, including:
1. Considering four-way stops at the I-75 and Grange Hall interchange ramps to optimize traffic control.
2. Working with GPS navigation providers to show ONLY approved detour routes and avoid heavier traffic volumes on local roads.
3. Adding temporary traffic control adjustments to M-15 to improve access to I-75.
Meanwhile for the Fitzpatrick family, Joe Fitzpatrick has this message for drivers.
“Slow down a lot, because not only ... are other drivers on the road, there’s obstacles on the road, a cone could be thrown in the middle of the road," said Joe Fitzpatrick. “If a car accident happens, stay in your vehicle, that is so important.”
