
A dump truck that slammed into the back of a stopped semi left two people in critical condition.
It happened on Tuesday around 3:30 p.m. on Interstate 65 near the Washington Street exit in Indianapolis, Indiana. A 56-year-old semi truck driver was driving southbound on I-65 when he came across slowed traffic due to a previous fender bender.
The semi truck driver slowed to a stop while other vehicles attempted to move around the wreck. That’s when the semi truck driver was struck from behind by a dump truck. The impact from that collision wedged the dump truck’s cab underneath the semi truck.
The two trucks were mangled together–and the dump truck’s cab was obliterated.
The awkward positioning of the wreck made extricating those from the dump truck a difficult task.
According to the Indianapolis Fire Department,
“The driver of the semi assisted fire crews by removing the cab of the semi off the trailer – allowing firefighters to manually lower the front of the trailer. This created a pivot at the rear wheel base and raised the tail end of the trailer. This operation helped relieve some of the pressure off the landscape truck containing the 2 pinned men. After crews stabilized the semi and the dump truck using cribbing and struts, two high pressure airbags were deployed to lift the semi trailer up. Tactical crews then raised the bed of the dump portion of the truck and using a Sawzall, cut away an attached trailer – which allowed for better access to remove the cab around the occupants.”
The dump truck’s driver and passenger were hospitalized in critical condition. The semi truck driver was not reported to be injured.
UPDATE: It was later reported that the 25-year-old dump truck driver, Jared Crump, died from injuries he sustained in the crash.