INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana State Police troopers were called to a multi-vehicle crash on eastbound I-70 near the 64-mile marker, about two miles west of the Plainfield exit, at around noon on Saturday. When emergency responders arrived, they located three semi-tractor trailers and four other several severely damaged cars. One was upside down and fully engulfed in flames.
As the Plainfield Fire Department extinguished the flames of that vehicle, they found the driver entrapped in the wreckage. That driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two other individuals were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident closed the eastbound lanes of I-70 for nearly six hours while the crash was investigated and the wreckage removed.
A preliminary investigation determined traffic had been backed up from a minor crash on the side of the interstate just west of the crash scene. A semi-tractor trailer driver failed to stop in time and hit the stalled traffic. Two vehicles rolled over and several others received heavy damage.
The identity of the person who died is being withheld to allow time for family notifications.
The investigation is ongoing. Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be a factor in the accident.
