GEORGETOWN TWP., MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jan. 18, 2026) – For the second time in less than 36 hours, wintry weather is believed to be the reason for a portion I-196 being closed off between Grandville and Hudsonville on Sunday morning.
According to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Jon Smoes, a 34-year-old Indianapolis man was driving his SUV eastbound near the 66 mile marker around 9 AM, when the vehicle lost control on the snow-covered freeway. The SUV veered off of the roadway, went behind a guardrail, and slid down a deep ravine before landing on top of a culvert and a small creek.
While the unnamed solo motorist refused treatment for bumps and bruises at the scene, it took crews a couple of hours to get the vehicle out of the ravine, blocking the right lane as a result.
Around the midnight hour of Friday/Saturday, numerous slide offs and crashes were reported, coming from both directions of the freeway, leading to the entire expressway being closed off between the M-6 and 44th Street exits. In separate crashes, one sedan had flipped over, while two semi trucks slid off, blocking traffic.
All of these crashes remain under investigation.
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