At least four multi-vehicle crashes, including one involving more than 50 cars, injured at least 17 people and closed Metro Detroit freeways on Sunday as heavy snowfall returned to the area, authorities said.

Crashes disrupted traffic from Wayne County to Macomb County due to “driver error” events in snowfall and whiteout conditions, police said:

► Interstate 696 eastbound and westbound are closed from Interstate 275, Interstate 96 and M-5 to Orchard Lake Road in Oakland County due to crashes, authorities said. An eastbound lane reopened late Sunday afternoon, according to a Michigan State Police spokesperson.

► Westbound Interstate 696 closed at Hoover Road in Macomb County due to a pile-up of multiple cars, said Michigan Department of Transportation spokeswoman Diane Cross.

► Eastbound I-696 has reopened after it was closed at Van Dyke Road in Warren due to an accident, according to MSP. Westbound lanes remained closed.

► Eastbound I-96 express lanes east of M-39 closed due to accident, and off-ramps from M-39 to eastbound I-96 closed, according to MDOT.

►I-96 eastbound closed at Grand River in the Farmington area, including express lanes.

Westbound I-96 at Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills remained closed around 3:30 p.m., with one lane open on the east side, MSP Lt. Michael Shaw said.

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The eastbound I-696 lanes were originally closed at M-5 after a multi-vehicle crash in Farmington Hills, MDOT said on Twitter around 1 p.m.

The westbound exit ramp from M-5 to I-696 was closed, as was the ramp from I-275 to I-696 east, MDOT said.

Shaw attributed the crashes to reckless driving.

“I never worry about 12 to 15 feet of snow in Metro Detroit,” Shaw said. “I’m worried about 1-2 inches as drivers continue to drive as fast as if there was no snow at all. They keep stalking each other, they keep using their phones, and that’s basically what’s happening.

“You have a car that can turn or have to stop, the next car can’t, and the next car can’t, and the next thing you know you have a multi-car accident. Those are accidents, these are collisions. These are driver error events that shouldn’t happen with one to two inches of snow.

According to Ian Lee, a National Weather Service meteorologist in White Lake Township, whiteout conditions may have led to some of the crashes and have been reported in areas with the heaviest snowfall, including Corridor I. -96/696.

Heavy snow showers are expected to continue in the corridor until around 7 or 8 p.m., Lee added, with lighter showers expected between M-59 and I-94.

Whiteout conditions were not expected for other snowfall areas, Lee said, but reduced visibility of a mile or less was possible.

Southbound M-10 from Wyoming to Detroit has reopened after being closed due to a crash, MDOT’s Southeast Michigan Transportation Operations Center reported around 3:30 a.m.

What appeared to be the largest pileup, with more than 50 cars, occurred on I-96 east of Grand River Road, according to David Fornell, assistant fire marshal for the Detroit Fire Department, who transported 17 motorists to hospitals.

One person was in critical condition, Fornell said; the others were in stable condition.

There was no timetable for freeway clearance. MDOT “can’t even imagine” when the freeways will reopen, Cross said.

Photos and videos posted on social media show vehicles sliding down the freeway and colliding with vehicles or running off the freeway. Macomb, Livingston, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties are subject to a winter weather advisory until 8 p.m. with 1 to 4 inches expected and highest between the M-59 and Interstate 94 corridors.

Photos released after the pileups show long lines of vehicles standing still or moving slowly.

“Keep those eyes on the road not the phone,” MSP tweeted.

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