A semitractor-trailer crashed into backed-up traffic on a Michigan interstate, killing four people and injuring 17 others just before midnight on Saturday, police said.

Troopers with the Michigan State Police had been stationed on Interstate 96, controlling traffic as workers installed power lines across the road, the department said in a statement.

Prior to the crash, "numerous" cars had came to a halt in the expressway's westbound lane near the intersection with M-52, police said. The work, which was being done by Consumers Energy, required the road to be completely shut down for a short period, police.

Those vehicles had just begun moving again when the truck crashed into them, police said.

"It appears the driver of the semi-truck did not see the backup and could not stop his vehicle in time," police said. "The semi-truck was in the left lane of travel and struck numerous vehicles."

The truck and more than a dozen other vehicles caught fire after the crash, police said.

"Seventeen vehicle occupants have been transported to UM Sparrow Hospital and McLaren Hospital in Lansing for serious injuries," police said.