PLAINFIELD – Saturday, at 12:05, the Indiana State Police Dispatch Center began receiving multiple calls about a serious multi-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of I-70 near the 64-mile marker, approximately two miles west of the Plainfield exit.
When emergency responders arrived, they located several severely damaged vehicles, one of which was upside down and fully engulfed in flames. As the Plainfield Fire Department hastily extinguished the flames they located the driver who was entrapped in the wreckage. That driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. First responders found two other individuals requiring medical care, they were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. There were three semi-tractor trailers involved and four passenger vehicles.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes of I-70 for nearly six hours while the crash was investigated and the wreckage was removed. Officers from the Plainfield Police Department, along with Deputies from the Hendrick’s County Sheriff’s Office worked to clear out all the vehicles stuck in the traffic queue.
A preliminary investigation determined traffic was backed up from a minor crash on the side of the interstate just west of the crash scene. As traffic backed up, the driver of a semi-tractor trailer failed to stop in time and hit the back of stopped traffic. Two vehicles rolled over and several other vehicles received heavy damage. The investigation into the circumstances of the crash is still under investigation, Indiana State Police Detectives responded to the scene, along with Indiana State Police Crash Reconstruction Team members to assist with the investigation. The Hendricks County Coroner responded to the scene and has preliminarily identified the deceased, the identity of that person is being withheld at this time to allow time for family notifications.
Crash investigators are still on scene, however, one eastbound lane is open at this time. At this point, neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be a contributing factor in this crash.
