Deputies: Driver killed in ‘horrific’ Berrien County crash

NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A semi-truck driver was killed in a "horrific" crash Monday near the Indiana state line, deputies say. It happened around 4:30 p.m. on westbound I-94 in New Buffalo Township, according to the Berrien County Sheriff's Office. Deputies say an eastbound semi-truck crossed the cable barriers, hitting a westbound semi-truck. Another driver saw the crash. She told authorities that as she was passing the eastbound truck, she "noticed the driver was experiencing some type of distress and having trouble maintaining his lane," according to the sheriff's office. Then, the witness said, the semi-truck suddenly turned left, crossed all three lanes of eastbound traffic and went through the median, just missing a westbound car before it hit the westbound semi-truck. The driver of the eastbound semi-truck was ejected, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies say he was found unresponsive, having suffered trauma to his head and lower extremities. Though first responders tried to save his life, the driver — identified by the sheriff's office as 45-year-old Jeffrey Oneal of Livonia — died on scene. The other driver was not hurt, deputies say. Two lanes of westbound I-94 were shut down for hours as crews cleaned up the scene. The crash remains under investigation. Deputies say they're waiting on the results of an autopsy to see if any medical issues may have led to the "horrific crash."