Fatal accident shuts down bridge for hours
THE STRAITS OF MACKINAC (AP) -- A tractor-trailer driver is dead after his truck crossed the center lane of the Mackinac Bridge and struck a car heading in the opposite direction.
Michigan State Police Sgt. Lorne Hartwig says Friday afternoon that part of the truck is hanging over a bridge railing, but is in no danger of falling into the Straits of Mackinac.
Hartwig says the truck was southbound near mid-span of the 5-mile-long bridge about 2 p.m. when it hit the northbound car.
The occupants of the car were not injured.
It is not clear if the truck's driver was killed by the crash or from a health issue suffered before the wreck.
Traffic along both directions of the bridge was backed up for hours. The bridge re-opened just before 5:30 pm
Among those stuck in bridge traffic was the Glen Lake football team. They had to transfer from their bus to a ferry for a ride to the island and then on to the Upper Peninsula to make their game with St. Ignace
The bridge connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.
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