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.
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