Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Officials said traffic mostly cooperated after a dumpster hauler hit a freeway overpass in Hartland Township Thursday afternoon.

It was a long, busy day and night for first responders and others on scene, with significant backups throughout the day and evening commute.

Hartland Deerfield Fire Chief Adam Carroll tells WHMI traffic did a pretty nice job of kind of working around them early on, which was helpful, as it was a little messy trying to get some decent traffic flow going again.

Carroll said the big message for motorists is that when you are in those types of situations, please be as patient as possible as there are a lot of first responders out on the ground on foot - spread out in areas where they’re pretty vulnerable.

Carroll stressed that they understand nobody likes being stuck in traffic and it’s always one of their goals to keep traffic moving and get things re-opened as fast as possible – adding “without a doubt, the fire service is always happy to get off the roadway”.

As for damage, Carroll said it was “pretty substantial”, and the most damage he’s seen from a bridge strike so far as it destroyed the outer beam and ripped the sign completely off. He said fortunately, there were no injuries involved, just plenty of damage – noting that outside beam will need to be replaced, not repaired.

13-feet-6-inches is the standard normal bridge height – which Carroll said is the minimum – and the bridge is at least that or a little above. However, with the truck’s arms being that high, he said it was definitely over that height.

As for incident specifics; The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies were dispatched around 1:40pm to the crash that involved a commercial motor vehicle crashing into the Crouse Road overpass bridge on northbound US-23.

The Office said investigation indicates that A 2019 Mack truck being operated by 31-year-old Lansing resident was traveling northbound on US-23 and approaching the Crouse Road overpass. The Mack truck was used to haul dumpsters and failed to put the hydraulic tilting mechanism down after dropping a dumpster.

The commercial vehicle was over height for the overpass and the hydraulic tilting mechanism struck a sign attached to the bridge and then the bridge. The sign had fallen after being struck. and a 2019 Chevy Malibu being operated by a 27-year-old Linwood resident struck the sign as it was falling. There were no injuries reported.

Crouse Road will remain closed until further notice and northbound US-23 was to remain down to one lane until MDOT completes its investigation.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by personnel from the Hartland Deerfield Fire Authority, Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Division, and Michigan Department of Transportation.

Updates can be accessed on the Hartland Deerfield Fire Authority Facebook page. That link is provided.