A semi-tractor trailer which ran off the road early this morning on I-94 came to rest in a tree hanging over the Trail Creek waterway, the Indiana State Police said.

According to police, at 1:10 a.m. trucker Charles E. Jackson, 55, of Etowah, Iowa., was eastbound on I-94 in LaPorte County when, he advised, his wheel jerked to the right and he lost control of his rig, which left the roadway, traveled down a ditch, then moved through a tree line. The trailer eventually lodged in the trees while the tractor came to rest in a tree suspended over Trail Creek, police said.

Coolspring Township firefighters used chainsaws to cut through the tree to extricate Jackson, who police said complained of chest pain but refused medical treatment at the scene.

The trailer’s 41,000 pounds of auto parts was to be off-loaded before being removed from the trees, police said.

The rig is owned by Reeves Brothers Trucking of Lexington, Tenn. It had extensive damage both to the tractor and trailer.

Posted 1/30/2013