A gargantuan car pile-up and fire in Michigan has prompted the evacuation of people for miles around the accident because a tractor trailer involved in it was carrying noxious materials, ABC News reported.
The domino-effect crash allegedly involved as many as 70 vehicles on snowy road conditions near a mall, Michigan police said. At least one person died as a result of the crash. The fire involved at least two trucks - one carrying fireworks and the other flammable materials - and fire fighters struggled to put it out.
"Emergency crews are working to extract this semi to resolve any further issues," the MichiganState Police said in a statement.
The pile up happened on Interstate 94 between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. The highway was shut down in both directions following the crash and will likely be closed for several hours.
The Michigan accident was the most severe so far in the three days of bone-chilling cold and snow that has pummeled the East Coast and Midwest regions. A mass of Arctic air has moved in across the country and brought snow to places that rarely get winter weather, like Florida, according to Yahoo.
Chicago and other Midwest cities closed schools temporarily to protect kids from the risk of frostbite after wind chill temperatures got as low as 25 degrees below zero.