Worker Killed While Changing Tire On I-65
LAKE STATION, Ind. (CBS) - A roadside assistance worker changing a flat tire on a semi was killed along southbound Interstate 65 in Northwest Indiana.
Phillip Amsden, 63, of Hebron, Ind., was pronounced dead on the scene by a Lake County Deputy Coroner from massive blunt force trauma, according to a release from Indiana State Police.
At 11:43 p.m. Thursday, a semi-tractor trailer was pulled over on the right shoulder of southbound I-65 just south of I-80 in Lake Station, Ind., according to Indiana State Police Lowell District Trooper Dan Becker said.
Amsden was outside the semi putting air in a tire when a 2006 Land Rover accelerated to merge onto southbound I-65 from Ridge Road and struck the semi.
Amsden was crushed between the tractor trailer and his 2008 Ford F-350 pick-up service truck, the release said.
The driver of the semi, Thomas P. O'Conner, 57, of Wheeling, was inside the tractor trailer at the time of the crash and was not hurt, according to the release.
The driver of the Land Rover, Jeffrey A. Cleary, 64, of Valparaiso, Ind., was charged with driving a vehicle while intoxicated. He was the sole occupant of the Land Rover, the release said.
He was treated for non-life threatening injuries at Methodist Hospital, Becker said.
All lanes of I-65 were reopened as of about 3:45 a.m., the release said.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
