INDIANAPOLIS — The northbound lanes of Interstate 65 in downtown Indianapolis were closed for several hours after a fiery crash involving a semi-tractor trailer and two cars early Friday morning.
Flames and heavy smoke could be seen far from the crash scene as first responders arrived around shortly after midnight Nov. 8 in the northbound lanes of I-65 north of West Street.
An Indiana State Police spokesperson said a driver was on the phone with a dispatcher reporting that their car had stalled when it was struck by another car.
That car – not the stalled vehicle – then spun into the path of a northbound semi, which struck the car. Both that car and the semi became engulfed in flames, police said, and the driver of the car was trapped in the wreckage and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Marion County Coroner's Office will release the identity of the person killed once family has been notified.
The semi driver was able to get out and was not seriously injured, an Indiana State Police spokesperson said in a statement.
"Investigators are unsure what caused the vehicle to become disabled, but a malfunction caused the car to shut off and none of the lights would work, leaving it stalled in the left lane with no lights," the spokesperson said.
The driver of the stalled car was not seriously injured.
Crash reconstructionists responded to the scene, and the investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
The northbound lanes of I-65 in the area were closed for several hours Friday morning but have since reopened.