Mike Cox (R)
LANSING Mich. (Legal Newsline)-The Michigan attorney general wants three insurance companies to reimburse the state $3.4 million for the cost of rebuilding Nine Mile Bridge.
The bridge was destroyed last month after a car collided with a fuel tanker and sparked an explosion. No one was killed or injured in the incident. A computer science student from Wayne State University was ticketed for excessive speed and fined $150.
Under the no fault law in Michigan, no one involved in the incident is considered at fault.
Attorney General Mike Cox said if the state was unable to reach a settlement with the companies that insured the vehicles involved in the incident than his office will file suit on behalf of the Michigan Department of Transportation.
MDOT records show millions in damages to bridges, walkways, guardrails, signs and other objects on the state's highways every year. From 2006-2008 MDOT reported $4.5 million in damages and has collected $2.6 million of it and was able to write off $500,000 as total losses.
The attorney general's office handles approximately 200 traffic-related cases each year but this one has an unusually high price tag on it.