A driver died Saturday afternoon in a crash on Interstate 80 involving a parked, unoccupied semi-tractor/trailer and a sport utility vehicle, according to a release from Indiana State Police, Lowell Post.
Around 1 p.m. on Nov. 9, troopers responded to the crash between the Ford Explorer and the semi on I-80 westbound at the 9.1-mile marker, just east of the exit ramp to Grant Street in Gary, police said.
A preliminary investigation by Trooper Regen Smith shows a Volvo tractor pulling double FedEx trailers was parked on the right shoulder. The semi’s driver was outside the vehicle inspecting an air leak between the two trailers when the Ford Explorer left the roadway for unknown reasons and struck the rear passenger side of the rear trailer, police said.
The collision caused the rear trailer to lurch forward as the Ford continued off the roadway and into the right ditch.
The driver of the Ford was ejected from the vehicle when it came to a final rest in the ditch. The driver was declared deceased by the Lake County Coroner at the scene, police said.
The identity of the driver will be released by the Lake County Coroner’s Office once the family has been notified.
Troopers were assisted by Gary Fire/EMS, WAFFCO Towing, Lake County Coroner’s Office and INDOT.
