Authorities Identify Third Fatal Victim In I-96 50-Vehicle Pileup

FOWLERVILLE (WWJ) - The third person killed in last week's 50-vehicle pileup along I-96 in Livingston County is being publicly identified.

According to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, 28-year-old Vitalii Stelmakh — a semi truck driver from Hollywood, Florid —  died when his rig was involved in the chain-reaction crash, Thursday near Fowlerville.

Sheriff's officials last week identified the other two victims as 69-year-old Homer Leon Tew and 62-year-old Theresa O'Connor Tew — a married couple from Ann Ann Arbor who were traveling in the same vehicle.

In addition to the fatalities, 11 people were hurt in what Livingston County Sheriff's  Lt. Eric Sanborn said it was "the worst accident (he'd) ever seen."

The 11 were taken to local hospitals with what were described as non-life threatening injuries. "The worst of it was a broken ankle," said Sanborn, "so it really was amazing on how many people were unhurt or only very minor injuries with such a horrific accident."

The crash, which happened shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday in the area of Fowlerville Road, had the westbound lanes of the freeway shut down for nearly 13 hours. Officials said Friday as many as 53 vehicles were involved, including multiple semi trucks and cars that were crushed between them.

Rescue crews struggled to reach both victims and survivors, several of whom had to be extradited from their vehicles.

While an investigation by the Livingston County Traffic Safety Bureau. continues, officials said ice on the roadway and whiteout conditions reported at the time of the initial crash were believed to be factors.

No information about tickets written or any possible charges has been released.