All lanes were re-opened as of 6 a.m. Wednesday.
WHITE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - State police said a gust of wind started the chain-reaction crash that hospitalized three truck drivers Tuesday afternoon. All but one lane of northbound I-65 remains closed, nearly six hours after the crash.
Around 3:00 p.m., police said a strong wind picked up the trailer of a semi near the 199 mile marker, and caused it to hit another semi in the right lane.
Both drivers lost control. The first truck hit a concrete bridge barrier, separating the cab from the frame. The cab came to rest in the median and the trailer fell into the creek.
When traffic behind the initial crash slowed, police said a tanker semi rear-ended a box truck in a secondary crash. That pushed the box truck into another semi and all three crashed.
Both drivers in the first crash and the driver of the tanker were rushed to the hospital. Police say all three are expected to survive.
The crash completely closed the northbound lanes of I-65 between the Wolcott and Remington exits for several hours. That's an eight-mile stretch.
Traffic was backed up for at least another five miles while police redirected drivers onto U.S. 231.
Additional photos courtesy of Troopers Stinson, Benner and Jones https://t.co/G8uATQKNX4 pic.twitter.com/XQMH7eDFR3
— Sergeant Glen Fifield (@ISPLowell2) March 3, 2020
As of 8:30 p.m., one lane of northbound I-65 was open, but state police said it could still be another hour or two before everything was cleared. Drivers are still advised to avoid the area.
