Fatal Crash Shuts Down Indiana Toll Road
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 51-year-old Ohio man was killed in a chain-reaction crash near Gary on the Indiana Toll Road Friday – an accident that injured a state trooper and caused all lanes to be shut down for a time.
The accident occurred around 1:30 p.m. when a state police trooper checked on a disabled vehicle on the eastbound shoulder of the Toll Road just east of the I-65 ramp, Indiana State Police said in a news release.
When the officer attempted to cross the eastbound lanes to reach an emergency crossover, his police car was struck by a Dodge pickup truck. The truck went into the westbound lanes and hit a 2013 Ford Fusion head-on.
The Fusion's driver, Lucas J. Del Valle of Amherst, Ohio, was pronounced dead at the scene. Three passengers had non-life-threatening injuries.
The trooper and the driver of the Dodge pickup truck were taken to area hospitals to be checked out. Both had non-life-threatening injuries.
Eastbound traffic was closed for more than an hour. Westbound lanes did not reopen until 7 p.m. so that authorities could investigate the scene.
