RACINE, Wis. — Despite the severity of an early morning crash on Interstate 94 near Sturtevant on Thursday, people involved suffered minor injuries, according to the Racine County Sheriff's Office.
The interstate reopened hours after the crash that caused a firey scene early Thursday morning.
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The crash happened just after 4:30 a.m. between highways 20 and 11, when a semi-tractor-trailer traveling northbound hit a Sprinter van that reportedly was driving slowly on the shoulder or partially in the right lane, RCSO Public Information Officer Lt. Michael Luell said in a release.
The semi then traveled across the northbound lanes, hitting the median, and blocking southbound lanes of traffic.
According to Lt. Luell, the semi caught fire and leaked a large amount of diesel fuel, prompting response from the Department of Natural Resources.
Lt. Luell said an SUV was also involved in the crash, which he described as a "chain-reaction."
Two people were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries, and a third person declined medical transport, according to the RCSO press release.
I-94 was not fully reopened until 10 a.m. Thursday, creating significant traffic impacts for drivers throughout the area.
For AJ Larson, the general manager at Route 20, a restaurant just west of I-94, a portion of his morning commute that often takes less than a minute took him more than 25 minutes Thursday.
"It was gridlock," he said.
He said beyond the commute, the traffic issues also impacted business.
"It took our staff a lot of time to get here this morning. However, everybody on the road this morning," Larson said. "Everyone on the road this morning had somewhere to be an hour ago. So all these cars that are driving by, they weren't stopping in."
However, Larson's mind was on those directly involved in the crash.
"When you're driving, there are other people on the road, other families, and life is too precious," he said.
According to RCSO, a second crash on I-94 happened at 7:30 a.m., just north of Highway KR, when a semi-tractor-trailer rear-ended another semi-tractor-trailer. The collision also caused a box truck to be involved, and one of the semis caught fire.
One person involved in the second crash was also transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, Lt. Luell said.
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