Related: 2 injured in crash in I-94 in Ann Arbor
Police say an Ypsilanti-area couple "got very lucky" Tuesday when they escaped serious injury after their car was rear-ended by a semi-tractor trailer and run over by the trailer of a second truck.
Michigan State Police Sgt. Mario Gonzales said the driver was trying to enter eastbound I-94 from Jackson Avenue and cut in front of the first truck in the right lane of travel.
The second truck had just delivered its load, so the trailer was empty when it ran over the car, Gonzales said. Witnesses told police the trailer on the second truck was actually lifted off the ground when the car was pushed underneath. But since it was empty, Gonzales said, "instead of crushing the car, (the trailer) went over it."
He said the roof of the car was crushed.
Ann Arbor Fire Battalion Chief Robert Vogel said firefighters had to pull the doors off of the small station wagon to extricate the couple, and the woman had a head injury and the man complained of pain. The couple, both 67, were wearing seat belts.
They were taken to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, but Gonzales said both were treated and released.
He said the injured driver was at fault in the crash, but had a good driving record.
Gonzales said the driver told a state trooper he looked at the highway before he tried to merge, but didn't see the truck in his path. Gonzales said it's the responsibility of merging drivers to yield to any traffic on a road