A major accident involving more than 40 vehicles shut down a portion of westbound I-96 Tuesday night.

Brighton Fire Chief Mike O’Brian says the call came in at 6:48pm with vehicles spread out over a half mile stretch between Kent Lake Road and Pleasant Valley Road. Michigan State Police say there was an initial crash that involved around 30 vehicles. As traffic was backing up from that crash, another six crashes occurred with 2-3 vehicles in each.

Six people were transported to the hospital for minor injuries. I-96 westbound finally reopened just after 9:30pm. It's believed heavy rain that moved through the area was to blame for the crash.

Photo: Michigan State Police. (JM/JK)