OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich – A 57-year-old woman from Fenton has died, and five others were seriously injured after a three-vehicle crash in Oakland County.
The crash occurred on New Year’s Day at 3:09 a.m. on westbound I-96, east of the South Hill Road overpass in Lyon Township.
The 57-year-old Fenton woman was a backseat passenger in a 2016 Ford Explorer, which officials say rear-ended a 2025 Chevy Trax stopped in the second lane of I-96 with only its hazard lights on.
Reasoning for why the Trax, which a 30-year-old Ypsilanti man operated, was stopped.
Officials say after hitting the Trax, the Explorer ended up facing east in the westbound land and was struck head-on by a 2018 Jeep Compass operated by a 75-year-old woman from Leslie, Michigan.
All occupants of the Ford Explorer were removed from the vehicle before it caught fire after the second crash.
The occupants included:
• The driver was transported to the hospital and was listed in serious condition. He was wearing a seatbelt
• Front seat passenger, the 51-year-old wife of the driver, was transported to the hospital and is listed in serious condition. She was wearing a seatbelt
• Rear left passenger, the 57-year-old woman from Fenton, died at the scene. Her seatbelt use is unknown.
• Rear right passenger, an 82-year-old resident of Fenton (husband of deceased), was transported to the hospital and is in critical condition. His seat belt use is unknown
Officials say the driver of the Jeep Compass, wearing a seat belt, was transported to a Metro Detroit hospital and is listed in critical condition.
The Chevrolet Trax driver was transported to a Metro Detroit hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.
A blood draw was completed for the driver pursuant to a search warrant, and officials say the blood results are pending.
Officials say he was wearing a seatbelt, but alcohol may have been a factor in this crash.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating the incident.