Motorists refusing
to yield to emergency vehicles complicated the Liberty Township Volunteer
Fire Department’s response to a semi fire on the Indiana Toll Road late
Monday.
According to a
statement released by the LTVFD, at 9:30 p.m. a semi-tractor trailer
westbound on the Toll Road struck a guardrail for unknown reasons near the
34 mile marker, then traveled an additional 50 feet before coming to a rest
and bursting into flame.
The semi’s operator
escaped without major injuries and managed to make his way to safety, LTVFD
said, but responding fire units “suffered from traffic on the Toll Road not
yielding” to emergency vehicles at the scene, with multiple motorists
actually driving around the fire units and “compromising their safety while
on the ground.”
With the semi on
its side and both westbound lanes closed “for an extended period of time,”
LTVFD ultimately requested the closure of the Toll Road’s eastbound lanes at
the Chesterton plaza “to allow for emergency vehicles to approach the scene
from the opposite lanes of travel,” as westbound traffic was “preventing
fire units from responding in a timely manner,” LTVFD said.
Liberty
firefighters with their engine succeeded in suppressing most of the semi
fire and in the end disregarded an initial tanker plan response, LTVFD
noted. Fire units remained on the scene for some time, conducting overhaul
operations and assisting the Indiana State Police with lighting and debris
control on the highway.
The trucker himself
was checked by Porter EMS at the scene and later transported to a Michigan
City hospital.
“Please keep our
responders safe and do not follow or try to outrun emergency vehicles,”
LTVFD said.