Days after a massive crash estimated to have involved more than 100 vehicles on I-196 near Zeeland, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office has released body and cruiser camera footage of deputies responding.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 19, near-whiteout conditions led to a massive pileup involving more than 100 vehicles (including dozens of semi-trucks). The incident resulted in an hours-long highway shutdown between Zeeland and Hudsonville.
On Jan. 22, OCSO released footage showing how deputies responded to the event. The video includes more than 90 seconds of footage from the dashcams and body cameras of responding deputies.
Hudsonville Public Schools and MAX Transit helped transport stranded motorists to Hudsonville High School, where they were able to contact friends and family for assistance.
Initial reports stated up to a dozen people were injured. Sheriff Eric DeBoer clarified the total was nine injuries, with no fatalities, on Jan. 20.
“I think the worst I’m hearing is some broken bones,” he said. “It was … nothing short of a miracle that no one was hurt worse.”
DeBoer noted “a great outpouring of support from the community in general and a lot of good work done out there by emergency management groups and our road patrol and our partners in fire, tow companies and ambulances.”
OCSO has also expressed gratitude for local businesses that donated food to emergency workers, who were on scene for over seven hours.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: See how Ottawa County deputies responded to 100-car crash on I-196
Reporting by Mitchell Boatman, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
