A man is dead after a multiple big-rig collision late Monday night that will have southbound lanes of Interstate 65 closed in Jasper County for an indeterminate amount of time.
A red bobtail tractor was stopped in traffic around 10 p.m. August 4 at the 218-mile marker in Jasper County when a blue semi came speeding up behind it, Indiana State Police Lowell Division spokesman Sgt. Glen Fifield said in a release Tuesday afternoon. The area is under construction.
As that semi attempted to avoid hitting the tractor by swerving into the median — striking a cable barrier in the process — a second speeding semi that was following the first semi was unable to stop and ended up hitting the tractor, causing both it and the semi that hit it to catch fire, Fifield said. The semi driver was trapped inside the cab and died at the scene; the tractor driver was able to get out before it was engulfed by the fire.
Jasper County Coroner Andrew Boersma said Tuesday that the deceased driver is from Canada, and police were still trying to locate his family.
As firefighters worked through the night to get the fire under control, peat moss that one of the semis was hauling kept catching fire, hindering cleanup and severely damaging the roadway, Fifield said. It’ll need replacing as a result, he said, and the road won’t be opened until it is.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the roadway remained closed, and traffic was diverted at S.R. 14 (exit 220). Motorists are encouraged to use S.R. 55, U.S. 41 or U.S. 231 to head south in the meantime, Fifield said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.