Accidents jam I-65 traffic for hours — all lanes now open

Motorists were scrambling to find a way around three crashes Wednesday that delayed traffic on I-65 near the 61 mile marker for hours.

The incidents began at 5:55 a.m. Wednesday in the interstate’s southbound lanes when a semi ran off the roadway, blocking one of the lanes for several hours, and then both lanes for some time as a wrecker cleared it from the scene, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies said.

The driver, identified as Scott Pearson, 65, Louisville, Kentucky, was extricated from the cab by firefighters and stabilized by paramedics before being transported by helicopter to IU Health Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, deputies said.

Pearson was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, hospital officials said. Deputy Teancum Clark was the primary investigator, assisted by Sgt. T.A. Smith and Deputy Dustin Newland.

As work at that crash scene continued, sheriff deputies were called to a truck rollover at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday on County Road 400W between State Road 58 and Deaver Road. Injuries were listed as minor in the single-vehicle accident, although the truck spilled its load across the roadway, deputies said.

The truck was removed and the scene cleared at about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.

At about the same time the County Road 400W crash was cleared, sheriff’s deputies and Indiana State Police said I-65 northbound lanes were closed at the 61 mile marker due to another accident.

Details have not been released on that crash, but the northbound lanes reopened at about 1:40 p.m., according to Indiana State Police.

For more on these accidents, see Thursday’s Republic.