MEC&F Expert Engineers : 2 SEMIS COLLIDE CAUSING A FIRE FROM A FUEL TANK RUPTURE IN I-80 IN INDIANA

Saturday, February 21, 2015

2 SEMIS COLLIDE CAUSING A FIRE FROM A FUEL TANK RUPTURE IN I-80 IN INDIANA













FEBRUARY 20, 2015
HAMMOND, Ind. (WANE) 




Indiana State Police closed a section of Interstate 80 in Hammond for several hours after two semis collided causing a fire. Then while crews cleaned up the road, another car crashed into an Emergency Management Agency (EMA) vehicle, nearly hitting a worker.




Just after midnight on Saturday, the driver of a semi, Kevin Greenlaw, sat on the outer shoulder of I-80 waiting for assistance for his trailer. Police said after a service truck arrived and removed the disabled trailer, Greenlaw put on his emergency flashers and continued driving on I-80.




A second semi driven by Zivojin Lukic was near the outer shoulder of the road at this time. Lukic’s semi then crashed into the rear of the semi, which forced his semi to jackknife across the other lanes. A fuel tank ruptured and spilled diesel fuel across about 300 feet of the interstate. Police said the fuel caught on fire for a short time before it put itself out.




Greenlaw was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Luick was not injured. Lukic was cited for speeding too fast to avoid a collision.




While crews were cleaning up the interstate, an EMA worker was nearly 
hit by an oncoming car. The EMA worker saw a car traveling fast and not slowing down. He jumped over the concrete median just before the car hit the rear of his EMA vehicle. The driver was cited for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and proof of financial responsibility.




All lanes were closed at one point for crews clean up the traffic. Lanes were opened back up around 4 a.m.