Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — A Brownsburg truck driver is listed in critical condition after the semi tanker he was driving on an I-465 ramp at I-70 overturned and exploded Thursday afternoon.
Indiana State Police said the driver, Jeffrey Denman, 59, Brownsburg, was rescued by three people who saw the wreckage and helped him escape the flames.
Trooper Chris Hanson was the first on the scene and assisted the three other Good Samaritans with treating the driver’s injuries until medics arrived, state police said.
“Without question those good Samaritans saved this driver’s life,” Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine told reporters at the crash scene.
The accident happened just before 2 p.m. Thursday on a ramp from I-465 south to I-70 east,on the east side of Indianapolis, state police said.
Preliminary investigation revealed the semi tractor-trailer was exiting from I-465 onto I-70 when it overturned on the curve of the ramp, state police said. Investigators believe unsafe speed contributed to the roll-over.
I-70 eastbound and westbound lanes were closed in the area for about two hours while the fire was extinguished and the scene rendered safe, and then were reopened.
The I-465 southbound ramp to I-70 eastbound was to remain closed for several hours Thursday night as first responders cleaned up the wreckage from the tanker.
The state police were assisted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Indianapolis Fire Department, Indiana Department of Transportation, the Marion County Health Department, Zores Wrecker Service, and Indianapolis EMS.
