UPDATE: One dead, one injured in fiery I-94 crash

By Jason Overholt (joverholt@wsbt.com)

Tools

Police say that a driver was apparently going in the wrong direction on I-94 when they slammed head-on into another vehicle on Thursday, December 18. (Photo provided)

Police say that a driver was apparently going in the wrong direction on I-94 when he slammed head-on into another vehicle on Thursday, December 18, 2008. (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Dec 18, 2008 at 7:42 AM EST

Story Updated: Dec 18, 2008 at 6:07 PM EST

Police say a man stopped to pull an injured driver out of Thursday morning's fiery I-94 wreck, saving his life.

Multimedia

AUDIO: Listen to 911 calls from the I-94 fatal crash

According to The Lincoln Charter Township Police Department, 911 calls started coming in around 6:25 a.m. that a vehicle was going in the wrong direction on the highway at high speed.

Several agencies responded, but were unable to intercept the vehicle, a 1997 GMC Jimmy, before reports came in around 6:42 that it had slammed head-on into another vehicle, a 2006 Dodge pickup, near Stevensville.

The driver of the Jimmy was killed in the wreck. His vehicle was engulfed in flames that quickly overtook the Dodge, say police.

Wilber Pease, a volunteer firefighter from Newaygo, saw the crash and stopped to help. He pulled the driver of the Dodge, 46-year-old Paul Saunders from Midland, out of his truck before flames fully engulfed it.

Saunders was taken to Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph Michigan with serious but non life-threatening injuries, say police. His dog was killed in the crash.

The driver of the Jimmy who was going in the wrong direction is yet to be identified. At this time police don’t know if alcohol was a factor.

The crash occurred between mile marker 22 and 23.

See another photo from the scene, courtesy of Mark Parren

Stay with WSBT.com for updates to this story.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 48.0

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.