A steelhauler
merging onto I-94 from Ind. 49 overturned and lost its coil during rush-hour
on Tuesday afternoon, the Chesterton Fire Department is reporting.
Capt. Aimee Gilbert
told the Chesterton Tribune today that the incident occurred at 4:44
p.m., as the trucker was attempting to negotiate the ramp from northbound
Ind. 49 to westbound I-94. In fact he failed to do so and his rig tipped
onto its driver’s side, dislodging the coil, which rolled across all three
lanes of westbound traffic and came to rest against the concrete median wall
beneath the Ind. 49 overpass.
No vehicles were
struck by the coil, which, however, left “a big divot in the road,” Gilbert
said.
Firefighters had to
extricate the trucker from his cab. He was then transported to Porter
Regional Hospital with unspecified injuries. No other information about the
trucker or the trucking firm was available.
At no time was
westbound traffic stopped altogether, Fire Chief John Jarka noted, as
motorists managed to skirt around the scene on the outside berm by the
median wall. Which, Jarka noted, presented a hazard of its own, given the
proximity of the coil.
While firefighters
removed debris from the right and center lanes--enabling both to be
re-opened to traffic--Joe’s Towing Inc. righted the semi, then removed the
coil and loaded it onto a lowboy flatbed sent to the scene by LA. Bell Motor
Lines Inc.
The CFD cleared the
scene at 6:16 p.m.
As of deadline, the
Indiana State Police, which responded to the scene, had not released a
statement on the crash.