Blinding snow and slippery roads lead to a scary car accident in central Michigan this week as a minivan was dragged for almost 16 miles after rear-ending a tractor trailer. The accident took place in the early morning hours of January 7 when a Toyota Sienna->ke1053 carrying four people crashed into the back of the semi while driving along I-75 and had become entangled with the trailer’s underride bar.

The ensuing ride must have been terrifying as the van had no power, which meant there was no heat inside the vehicle (temperatures were reported to be around 1 degree Fahrenheit). They were able to call 911, but with the windshield wipers not working, they weren’t able to tell dispatchers exactly where they were. Photos taken by the Roscommon County Sherriff’s Office show that the a thick layer of snow had gotten caked on the van while it was being towed.

At one point, the occupant indicates that the truck is starting to gain speed and he was worried that if the van broke loose, he’d have no control. MLive.com has some of the audio clips from the actual 911 call recorded between the dispatcher and the van’s occupants.

After being dragged for such a long distance, police offices were finally able to locate the vehicles and the get the big rig to stop. There are no serious injuries reported to any of the four occupants inside the van, but the article says they were all taken to the hospital by ambulance for evaluation.

Click past the jump to read more about this incident.

Why it matters

This is a scary example of what can happen when wintry weather driving goes wrong. Fortunately, the occupants of the van kept their cool and were able to give officers as much information as possible to help track down their whereabouts.