Accident scene photos by ISP

Monday mayhem on I-65 halts southbound traffic near Roselawn

Indiana State Police troopers responded to the truck fire at about 2 p.m. (ET) Monday, located one mile north of the exit to Demotte/Roselawn (exit 230). The preliminary investigation shows that a 2021 Volvo, operated by Swift Transportation, was southbound on I-65 when the driver pulled over due to a mechanical problem with the vehicle.

When the vehicle stopped, the driver noticed the brakes on one side of the tractor were glowing red and started on fire. The driver attempted to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher from her cab; however, the fire had already spread to the vehicle. The fire quickly spread to the trailer and consumed the cab and trailer. The cargo, paint cans, ignited and caused an intense fire that quickly spread to the adjacent trees and even caught the asphalt roadway surface on fire. The driver of the semi was not injured, according to a report from the state police.

At one point, north- and southbound lanes were all closed due to the smoke and dangerous situation and southbound traffic was diverted off the interstate at S.R. 2 (exit 240). Once the fire was extinguished, northbound lanes were reopened; however, southbound lanes remained closed. One southbound lane was eventually able to be opened and traffic that had been caught in the backup was alleviated. Once that traffic cleared the scene, the southbound lanes were again closed and remained closed until the interstate was repaired overnight.

Responding emergency and clean-up agencies included: Indiana State Police, Keener Twp Fire, Lowell Fire, Wheatfield Fire, Hebron Fire, Rensselaer Fire and Marion Township Fire were all dispatched to assist with containing the scene. Lake County HazMat and Newton County EMA also responded to the scene.  Response Management Services (RMS) also responded to the scene to remove the contaminated materials and dirt. INDOT also credits the assistance of Ray & Wally's Towing, High Star Traffic and Rieth-Riley Construction. 

*Video of the fire can be found on the Indiana State Police Lowell Post Facebook and X accounts*