4 dead, 1 critical after early morning wrong-way crash on I-75 in Royal Oak

An early Sunday morning wrong-way crash on Interstate 75 in Royal Oak killed four people and critically injured a fifth, Michigan State Police say.

At around 2:50 a.m., the Detroit Regional Communications Center began receiving calls of a wrong-way driver in a black Volkswagen driving north in the southbound lanes of I-75, MSP said.

MSP said subsequent callers reported the wrong-way driver had crashed into a Dodge Caravan near 11 Mile.

Royal Oak police began ramping cars off the freeway as the Volkswagen was on fire, authorities say.

MSP said the driver of the Volkswagen was pronounced dead at the scene. The minivan was occupied by four people. Three of the four occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. One occupant was taken to a local hospital and was in critical condition.

MSP troopers were continuing to identify victims and notify families on Sunday. Police did not release names, ages or hometowns of the victims

The freeway was closed for six hours for the investigation and cleanup, MSP said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the number of people killed in the crash.