(COLDWATER TOWNSHIP, Mich.) - A Branch County Road Commission employee was critically injured Thursday when a semi-truck struck a mowing tractor on I-69.
The crash happened just before 1 p.m. in the southbound lanes near the Newton Road overpass.
Michigan State Police said the semi-truck rear-ended the mowing tractor while the road commission worker was cutting grass along the interstate.
The tractor operator was airlifted to a trauma center with critical injuries.
The crash scattered coils of wire from the semi-trailer into the highway median and forced the closure of both directions of I-69 between Fenn Road and Jonesville Road for several hours.
State police said warning signs had been placed ahead of the work zone before the crash.
The incident remains under investigation.
A second injury crash was reported in the northbound lanes of I-69 near mile marker 9 shortly after 3 p.m. Traffic was heavily backed up at the time as drivers waited to exit the interstate at Fenn Road.