HUNTINGTON COUNTY, IN—This afternoon at approximately 3:15 p.m., troopers from the Fort Wayne Post responded to a reported semi-crash on I-69 near the 290-mile marker in Huntington County.
Upon arrival, troopers found two vehicles, a semi-tractor/trailer, and a Dodge Ram pickup truck, pulling a flatbed trailer with heavy damage that had rolled over on their sides, blocking both northbound travel lanes. The driver of the semi-tractor/trailer was trapped inside and injured and had to be extricated from the wreckage by the Markle Fire Department. Once out of the vehicle, Parkview EMS personnel tended to him and then transported him to an area of Fort Wayne hospital with unknown injuries. The driver of the Dodge pickup truck was reported as not needing medical attention.
The preliminary investigation found that prior to the crash, the 2018 Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck pulling a flatbed trailer, driven by Benjamin Peters, 46, of Decatur, Tennessee, was traveling northbound in the left lane.
The 2013 Volvo semi-tractor/trailer, operated by Ghani Hussein Al-Awad, 60, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, also traveling northbound in the left lane, was approaching Peters’ vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Peters reportedly observed the semi approaching quickly and was in the process of changing lanes from left to right when Al-Awad’s semi-tractor crashed into the rear of Peters’ flatbed trailer. The impact caused both vehicles to overturn in the roadway blocking both northbound lanes of travel.
During the investigation, both northbound and southbound lanes of travel were restricted at times due to the crash scene and debris field. Lane closures in both directions had to be shut down to manage the investigation safely, causing lengthy backups. Northbound traffic was shut down for the whole two-and-a-half hours of cleanup, which required northbound traffic to be detoured off the interstate at the US224 Markle exit.
Numerous troopers from the Fort Wayne Post were on the scene managing the crash investigation. They were assisted by ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, Huntington County Sheriff’s Department, Markle Fire Department, Parkview EMS, and A-Plus Towing service.
This remains an ongoing investigation. There is no further information to release at this time.
