A road worker died on Wednesday after being struck by a semi on the Indiana
Toll Road in LaPorte County, the Indiana State Police said.
The victim was identified as Chad Fleager, 34, of Lowell.
According to police, at 11:55 p.m. Fleager was outside his vehicle, on the
entrance ramp for a truck parking lot in the westbound lanes of the Toll
Road, one mile west of the Michigan City exit, when he was struck by a
semi-tractor trailer traveling in the right lane.
The driver of the semi was James B. Payton, 60, of Calumet City, Ill. Police
said that, just prior to the crash, he veered out of the right lane.
Fleager—who was conducting pre-measurements for road work at the time—was
airlifted from the scene to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, where he died
two hours later, police said. Fleager was a rental coordinator for RoadSafe
Traffic Systems of Crown Point.
Payton’s rig was owned by Pitt Ohio Express LLC of Grove City, Ohio. Payton
was hauling paint, en route from Toledo, Ohio, to Forest Park, Ill. There
was no load loss.
The right lane was closed for three hours, police said.
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