Accident scene this morning -- State Police Photo

Five people died early this morning in a fiery crash on I-65 after the pickup truck in which they were riding was sandwiched between two semi rigs, the Indiana State Police said.

The victims were identified as a Hobart family, Brian W. Workman, 33, Joanna L. Workman, 31, Ashley Workman, 13, Tyler Workman, 8, and Ryan Workman, 1.

According to police, at 4:02 a.m. trucker Forest E. Stover, 58, of Huber Heights, Ohio, was southbound in the right lane of I-65, at the 247.2 mile marker near the Crown Point exit, when he crested a hill and was unable to stop for slowed traffic in front of him. Police said that Stover’s double box trailer rig rear ended a 2004 Dodge pickup occupied by five persons.

The impact of the collision then drove the pickup into the rear of a second rig, a flat-bed trailer being operated by George A. Hack, 45, of Elkhorn, Wis., police said.

The pickup subsequently caught fire, with the blaze spreading to Stover’s tractor. Neither Stover nor Hack was injured, police said.

All five occupants of the pickup were pronounced dead at the scene by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

The southbound lanes of I-65 were closed and traffic diverted off at the Crown Point exit and allowed to re-enter I-65 from U.S. 231. I-65 remained closed well into the morning, with the ISP indicating that the southbound lanes could re-open by 10 a.m.

Hack, driving for South Hill Trucking of Elkhorn, Wis., was hauling 50,000 pounds of coil rod. Stover, driving for Con-Way Central Express of Ann Arbor, Mich., was hauling 65,000 pounds of general freight. There was no load loss from either rig, police said.