Troy Woman Struck, Killed Trying to Help Crash Victim on I-94 in Chesterfield

Two people died in a multi-vehicle crash in the early Sunday morning hours on Interstate 94, Chesterfield Township police said Monday.

Police have identified the victims as Susan Kienscherf, 43, of Troy, and James Wietecha, 41, of Columbus, MI.

The crash took place around 2 a.m. Sunday on the freeway near 23 Mile in the township. At that time, a chain-reaction crash is believed to have started when Wietecha's vehicle struck a portable-direction arrow trailer at the beginning of a construction zone, township police said.

Witnessing the crash, Kienscherf then parked on the side of the 23 Mile exit ramp to walk to the scene and help. She was then struck by one of two other vehicles – a Ford Focus or a Mitsubishi passenger vehicle – that subsequently crashed. A semi truck, driven by an out-of-state motorist, also was involved, jackknifing at the scene but not colliding into another vehicle, township Detective Sgt. Deron Myers said.

It is unclear at this time which car struck the Troy woman or if speed was a factor for any of the vehicles involved. However, accident reconstructionists have been on the case that is under investigation, Myers said.

"At this time, drugs and or alcohol are not an outwardly apparent factor pending toxicology results," he said.

The drivers of the Ford, Mitsubishi and semi truck all remained on the scene when police arrived and have been cooperating with the investigation. None of them sustained life-threatening injuries, he said.

Chesterfield Township police officers and Michigan State Police responded to the accident scene and traffic was diverted to the 21 Mile exit with assistance from the Road Commission of Macomb County, township police said.