News Photo by Crystal Nelson A firefighter today walks up a ditch at the scene of a three-vehicle crash on U.S.-23, north of the railroad tracks near Ossineke. A tractor-trailer came to rest in the ditch after crashing into two other vehicles.

OSSINEKE — The Michigan State Police cited the driver of a tractor-trailer involved in a three-vehicle crash on U.S.-23 near Ossineke on Tuesday.

The driver, a 50-year-old Rose City man whose name was not provided, was cited for being unable to stop in an assured clear distance. A police investigation revealed the man failed to yield as a pickup truck was stopped to make a left-hand turn onto Piper Road, police said.

The tractor-trailer crashed into the back of a vehicle stopped behind a pickup, and that vehicle then crashed into the pickup truck around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday. The tractor-trailer came to rest in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Alcohol was not believed to have been involved in the crash.

The scene was finally cleared at 9:15 p.m. after a makeshift bridge was constructed so the 100,000 pounds of wood chips in the trailer could be offloaded. U.S.-23 was closed to one lane during most of the removal process.