Staff Reports
Indiana State Police troopers are investigating whether the driver of a recreational vehicle intentionally crashed into a concrete barrier near the 55 mile marker of Interstate 65, blocking northbound traffic for hours.
The crash was one of two on I-65 between Seymour and Columbus in a construction zone which caused one injury, Indiana State Police said. INDOT is widening I-65 in the area from two lanes to three on both sides of the interstate.
The first crash, at around 1 p.m., was an SUV that overturned at the 60 mile marker in the southbound lanes, with the vehicle stopping overturned in the middle of the lanes. The driver was not injured, said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, Indiana State Police spokesman.
The second crash, occurred within minutes after the first, was in the northbound lanes at the 55 mile marker, when an recreational vehicle driven by Clarence Hampton, 37, Orlando, Florida, crashed into a concrete barrier in the median of the construction zone, Wheeles said.
The recreational vehicle then caught fire and burned in the median, Wheeles said.
Hampton was transported by ambulance to Schneck Medical Center before being airlifted to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis with serious injuries, Wheeles said. Two passengers in the vehicle were not injured.
Wheeles said an investigation is continuing into how the accident happened.
Traffic was diverted off the interstate on to U.S. 31 and State Road 11 while the northbound interstate lanes were closed.
Investigating officers: Trooper Andrew Garrett, Trooper David Owsley
Assisting at the scene: Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Seymour Police Department, Jackson County EMS, Redding Township Fire Department, Hamilton Township Fire Department and 31 Wrecker Service.
