The Indiana State Police is blaming icy roadways for a six-vehicle accident on Saturday on I-65 in Lake County.

According to police, at 4:18 a.m. Peter Tychek, 31, of Rensselaer, was northbound on I-65, at the 259.9 mile marker near Merrillville, when he spun out on the icy road surface and struck the median barrier. Tychek—whose airbag deployed—had exited the vehicle to assess the damage when Marco A. Valdez, 19, of Lawrenceville, Ga., also lost control and spun out, striking Tychek’s vehicle, which then clipped Tychek and hurled him over the median wall.

Tychek was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital in Hobart with complaints of neck, back, and body pain, police said, while Valdez and his two passengers, Maria Arreola, 37, and Juan Najera, 38, also of Lawrenceville, were transported to Northlake Methodist Hospital in Gary with complaints of back and neck pain. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, police said, and all occupants had been using seatbelts.

Four other vehicles lost control on the ice and were damaged at this location, police said, but there were no injuries reported in those crashes.

“Drivers have to learn to slow down when the weather deteriorates the road conditions,” the ISP said. “If you are involved in a crash on a busy highway, the safest place to be is in your car.”

Posted 12/31/2012