A single-semi
accident on I-80/94 in Lake County during rush-hour on Monday gridlocked
traffic, the Indiana State Police said.
According to
police, at 4:30 p.m. trucker Khalil Abdelrahman, 49, of Indianapolis, was
westbound on I-80/94 when, near the Grant Street exit, he traveled onto the
right shoulder, then “jerked back to the left,” causing him to over-correct
and lose control of his rig.
Abdelrahman’s semi
slid across all westbound lanes, hit the concrete median barrier wall, then
crashed through the wall, with the tractor coming to rest in the eastbound
express lane and the trailer blocking all westbound lanes, police said. The
eastbound express lane was closed at the time of the accident and no other
vehicles were involved.
Abdelrahman was
transported to Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus in Gary for treatment of
non-life threatening injuries, police said.
Although crews were
able to re-open one westbound lane shortly after the crash, a large diesel
and oil spill slowed cleanup efforts, police said, with two more lanes being
re-opened at 6:45 p.m. By 8 p.m. all lanes had been re-opened except for the
far left one, to allow a crew to repair damage to the barrier wall, police
said.
Abdelrahman was
driving for BA Logistics of Michigan City and hauling 10,000 pounds of
general freight.