Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Saturday, September 29, 2012
(SALEM) - A Salem man who was lying underneath a semi on Interstate 65 sustained only minor injuries after another semi tractor-trailer rig crashed into it.
Stephanie Taylor Ferriell, of the Salem Leader reports, 36-year-old James Stewart, is a mechanic at Boss Truck Shops in Memphis.
Tuesday afternoon he was called to I65 northbound, just south of the 24-mile marker, to assist a semi having mechanical difficulties, according to a press release from the Indiana State Police.
That truck, a 2001 Mack loaded with home appliances, was parked on the right side of the interstate. Stewart was underneath the rig working when a 2006 Freightliner semi-tractor and trailer loaded with empty barrels was north bound at an unknown rate of speed and ran into the rear of the parked semi-tractor and trailer.
When the Freightliner crashed into the rear of the Mack it pushed it forward striking a 2007 Chevrolet work truck that was parked in front of the Mack. The Freightliner continued travelling after the initial crash approximately another 300 feet going over an embankment coming to a stop in a field east of the interstate.
The crash was reported at 1:40 p.m.
The driver of the Freightliner, Michael Y. Townsend, 48, of Milwaukee, Wisc., was transported to Scott County Hospital by ambulance with non life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Mack was in the sleeper compartment of the semi-tractor and trailer at the time of the crash and was not injured.
Stewart was treated at the scene. "He was extremely lucky," said ISP Sergeant Jerry Goodin.
When the crash occurred, one of the diesel fuel tanks on the Freightliner was damaged, spreading diesel fuel over approximately 50 feet of the interstate. The interstate was closed periodically for clean-up for over a three-hour period.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.