A fire engine operated by the Ann Arbor Fire Department was struck during a chain-reaction crash early Sunday morning as crews worked a hazardous winter roadway near an Interstate 94 exit.
The incident happened just after 6 a.m. on January 11, 2026, on Jackson Road at the westbound exit from Interstate 94. Ann Arbor Fire Department Engine 1-3, assigned out of Veterans Park, was already on scene assisting at a multi-vehicle crash when conditions deteriorated.
According to the department, Engine 1-3 was positioned on Jackson Road with emergency warning lights activated while firefighters assessed patients. During those operations, a vehicle exiting westbound I-94 lost control on snow- and ice-covered pavement, slid down the ramp, crossed Jackson Road, and struck another vehicle.
That initial impact triggered several secondary crashes. One of those collisions forced a vehicle into the front of the fire engine, damaging the apparatus.
No Ann Arbor firefighters were injured in the crash. Across both the original and secondary collisions, occupants reported only minor injuries.
The department said the incident was especially unsettling given its timing. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the line-of-duty death of Amy Schnearle-Pennywitt, who was killed under similar winter roadway conditions on eastbound I-94 just a few hundred feet from where Sunday’s crash occurred.
Ann Arbor Fire officials again urged drivers to slow down in winter weather, increase following distance, and move over when approaching emergency vehicles operating on or near the roadway.
- NMD Staff
Staff@NewMediaDetroit.com