2 lanes of I-75 near Monroe reopen after multi-truck crash

5/16/2006

MONROE Two southbound lanes of I-75 between exits 15 and 11 have reopened after a chain-reaction collision this morning involving five trucks. Two people were critically injured in the crash.

At 5 p.m. two of the three southbound lanes were reopened, a spokesman for the Monroe Sheriff Department said, leaving one lane closed. Traffic was still congested, he said.

Thomas Mamich, 62, of Burbank, Ohio, was southbound on I-75 at 10:46 a.m., north of Dunbar Road, when his tractor-trailer struck the rear of a semi being driven by Mark Gilliam, 31 of Madison Heights, Mich., Monroe county sheriff s deputies said.

The collision forced the Gilliam semi into the rear of a southbound truck being driven by Michael Loncar, 48, of Windsor, Ontario. The Loncar vehicle then crashed into two other southbound trucks. The names of those drivers were not available this afternoon.

Mr. Mamich was taken by air ambulance to Medical University of Ohio Hospital in Toledo. Mr. Loncar was taken to Mercy Memorial Hospital, Monroe, and transferred by air ambulance to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo. Mr. Mamich and Mr. Loncar were in critical condition this afternoon., Deputy Steve Yeary said.

No other injuries have been reported.

Mr. Mamich was carrying a load of salt that covered the highway, along with debris from the accident, forcing authorities to close that section of the highway.

Read more in later editions of The Blade and toledoblade.com