Drivers slip, slide, crash on icy roads

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Authorities and tow trucks were out and about on West Michigan roads Saturday morning after hundreds of drivers slid off the road and got into a variety of accidents and crashes.

Central dispatchers in several West Michigan counties, including Kent, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Ottawa, Calhoun, said they had crews responding to slide-offs and auto crashes throughout Saturday morning.

There were so many accidents on eastbound I-96 near East Beltline that the Kent County Sheriffs Department and Michigan State Police were forced to close down that area for two hours until everything was cleared up.

There were a total of 18 incidents that occurred between the East Beltline exit and Cascade Road exit; a combination of accidents slide offs.

The two departments handled several property damage accidents, two of them resulted in minor injuries. There were also two hit and run accidents in that area.

The sunny skies gave some drivers the illusion of clear roads on their Saturday drive, but the roads were still slick from Friday's winter storm. The storm's icy conditions affected commuters Friday night, causing slide-offs and slow drives all night long.