Chesterton Tribune

 

 

ISP: Trucker swats at bug crashes rig on I-65 backs up traffic for hours

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A trucker distracted by an insect that had flown into his cab crashed his semi rig on I-65 in Lake County on Thursday, forcing the closure of the southbound lanes for hours, the Indiana State Police said.

According to police, at 9:35 a.m. Christopher Walker, 28, of Thomson, Ga., was southbound on I-65 when, five miles south of the Lowell exit, a bug flew into his cab through his downed window. Walker, attempting to swat it, took his eyes off the road, then hit a guardrail on the west side of the roadway, police said.

Walker’s Freightliner continued southbound, raking the guardrail, until it struck a concrete construction barrier, causing the trailer to become detached from the tractor, which came to rest on the middle of the southbound lanes, police said. The trailer itself left the roadway to the west, rolled onto its passenger’s side, and split open, disgorging 42,000 pounds of plastic roll onto the roadway and over the embankment, police said.

All traffic was diverted off I-65 at Ind. 2, the Lowell exit, and both the plastic rolls and the tractor to be removed before the southbound left lane could be re-opened to clear out traffic which had been stuck in the backup. Southbound I-65 remained closed well into the afternoon on Thursday.

Walker--refused medical treatment at the scene--was issued a citation for unsafe lane movement, police said.

Walker was driving for EM Company of Lawrenceville, Ga.

 

Posted 7/13/2018

 
 
 
 

 

 

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