SEYMOUR — Indiana State Police have identified a driver of a semi who died in an early-morning accident today on Interstate 65 just north of the Tipton Street exit in Seymour.
Trooper Korry Clark said Jame H. Foster, 65, Louisville, Kentucky, died in the accident when his 2014 Freightliner truck pulling a box trailer traveling southbound collided with an Indiana Department of Transportation dump truck on the interstate at about 12:30 a.m. today.
Clark and an Indiana State Police crash reconstruction team determined the semi, which was traveling in the right hand lane, did not change lanes to avoid an INDOT 2008 International dump truck parked in the right lane of southbound I-65, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, ISP spokesman.
The INDOT truck was unoccupied and was providing lane blockage for crews who were doing repairs to the I-65 overpass over U.S. 50, Wheeles said. The INDOT dump truck has red and yellow flashing lights as well as a flashing arrow board operating at the time of the crash, Wheeles said.
After the semi hit the INDOT truck, Foster lost control of the vehicle and the semi overturned and came to rest partially on the roadway, Wheeles said. Foster was pronounced dead at the scene by Jackson County Coroner Michael Bobb. No other injuries were reported.
Foster, who drover for Summit Trucking, was hauling about 35,000 pounds of frozen food when the crash occurred, Wheeles said. The southbound lanes of I-65 were closed for about six hours after the crash, to allow time for crash investigation and to offload the frozen food by hand prior to removing the vehicle, Wheeles said. Southbound I-65 reopened about 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Check back for updates.
