Semi-Truck Hauling Tandem Trailer Overturns on I-96 On-Ramp at Wixom Road, Closing Ramp for Hours

By TruckCrash News Desk · Published August 25, 2026

What Happened

A semi-truck towing a tandem trailer overturned Tuesday afternoon on the ramp from southbound Wixom Road to eastbound I-96 in Wixom, leaving the truck’s driver with minor injuries and shutting down access to the freeway from Wixom Road, according to information released by the City of Wixom.

The crash happened at about 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, FOX 2 Detroit reported. The semi came to rest on its side on the on-ramp, and the ramp remained closed through the afternoon while crews worked to recover the truck and its tandem trailer.

The driver of the semi suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital, according to the city’s advisory reported by WHMI radio. The truck was not carrying hazardous materials, and no other vehicles were reported to have been involved in the crash.

Both directions of Wixom Road were closed temporarily so emergency crews could manage the response, and officials warned that the ramp closure was expected to last several hours while the rig was removed, according to FOX 2. The Michigan State Police, including its Motor Carrier Division, oversaw the response to the crash, WHMI reported. Reporting: FOX 2 Detroit and WHMI 93.5, with information from the City of Wixom and the Michigan State Police.

The Investigation: What Happens Next

The Michigan State Police, which oversaw the crash response, typically handles investigations of commercial vehicle crashes on and around metro Detroit freeways. In a rollover involving a semi pulling a tandem trailer — two trailers coupled behind a single tractor — investigators generally look at the truck’s speed through the ramp’s curve, how the trailers were loaded, and whether any mechanical factors were involved. Neither the state police nor the city had announced a cause as of Tuesday afternoon.

Commercial vehicle crashes can also draw a follow-up inspection under federal motor carrier safety rules, which cover everything from cargo securement to hours of service. Any findings from that process are usually handled administratively and are not always released publicly.

The Legal Picture

Q1: What rules apply to semi-trucks that roll over on ramps? Commercial trucks are governed by both Michigan traffic law and federal motor carrier safety regulations. Ramp rollovers often raise questions about speed relative to the posted advisory limit, load height and weight distribution — particularly with tandem-trailer combinations, which handle differently than a single trailer. Our overview of Michigan truck accident cases explains how these layers of regulation interact after a crash.

Q2: Who pays when a truck rollover causes injuries or damage? In this crash, only the truck’s own driver was reported hurt, and Michigan’s no-fault system would ordinarily be the first source of injury benefits. When truck crashes injure other people or damage property, commercial insurance policies — which typically carry higher limits than personal auto policies — come into play, and outcomes vary widely with the facts; our resource on truck accident settlements discusses the factors that matter.

Q3: Does a closure like this create any legal significance? Not by itself. Closures reflect the practical demands of clearing a heavy rig safely, and the time a road stays closed says nothing about fault.

These are general questions and answers about Michigan law. Nothing here assumes anything about the cause of this crash, which had not been announced by investigators, and nothing here should be read as a suggestion that anyone involved was at fault.

This Stretch of Road

I-96 through Wixom is one of the principal freight and commuter corridors between Detroit’s western suburbs and Lansing, and the Wixom Road interchange serves a concentration of industrial and logistics sites on the city’s south side, along with heavy retail traffic. Trucks are a constant presence at this interchange, moving between the freeway and the industrial parks along Wixom Road.

Freeway on-ramps are a recognized rollover risk zone for high-center-of-gravity vehicles: a loaded trailer — and especially a tandem set — responds to a ramp’s curve very differently than a passenger car, and advisory speeds on ramps are set with that in mind. Officials have not said what caused Tuesday’s rollover.

If You Saw This Crash

Anyone who was near the Wixom Road interchange with I-96 around 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, and saw the semi before or during the rollover — or who has dashcam footage from Wixom Road or the eastbound I-96 entrance — is encouraged to contact the Michigan State Police Metro Detroit post. Witness observations about the truck’s path through the ramp can help investigators establish what happened.

More on This Crash

• FOX 2 Detroit: Semi-truck crash on I-96 on-ramp blocks highway access from Wixom Road
• WHMI 93.5: Semi overturns on Wixom Road on-ramp to I-96