Rush-hour traffic on I-80 was congested this morning after an accident in
Lake County, the Indiana State Police said.
According to police, at 5:18 a.m. Joaquin DeJesus, 37, of Maywood, Ill., was
eastbound on I-80 when, for unknown reasons, he left the roadway and
rear-ended a disabled semi-tractor trailer parked on the outer shoulder just
west of Cline Ave.
The driver of the semi, Zdzislaw Wojas, 56, of Palos Heights, Ill., was not
injured. Police said that he had placed warning triangles behind his rig.
DeJesus sustained a laceration to his head and chest injuries and was
transported to NorthLake Methodist Hospital in Gary, police said.
DeJesus’ 2000 Toyota Sienna minivan was split in two by the impact and the
car parts with which it was loaded were strewn across three lanes of
traffic. There was no load loss from Wojas’ rig, hauling 60,000 pounds of
cardboard and drums, but the trailer had to be towed from the scene due to
damage to its rear tandems.
A second semi, driven by Louis Trujillo of Miami, Fla., struck some of the
debris in the roadway, police added. Trujillo escaped injury but his running
board was damaged.
All lanes of traffic except the left shoulder were closed until 5:58 a.m.
and all lanes re-opened at 7:10 a.m.
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