Disabled motorist on I-70 narrowly escapes crash with semi

CLAY COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) – A 17-year-old who was in a disabled vehicle on the side of Interstate 70 was able to exit her vehicle and narrowly miss being hit by a semi near the 19 mile marker early Thursday morning.

Officials report the 17-year-old from Farmersburg had a tire blow out on her Nissan while traveling westbound just before 12:30 a.m. Her vehicle swerved across both lanes and then struck a guardrail, stopping in the in the passing lane.

A semi stopped on the shoulder to assist the driver while the 17-year-old got out of her vehicle to call 911.

While she was attempting to get out of the roadway while calling 911, another semi traveling westbound had moved into the passing lane to avoid the semi who had pulled onto the shoulder to help the disabled vehicle. That semi then crashed into the disabled Nissan in the passing lane.

The 17-year-old was able to get out of the way before the on-coming semi struck her disabled Nissan. A report released by Indiana State Police stated there were only seconds between her getting out of the vehicle before it was hit.

Westbound I-70 was limited to one lane in the area for about two and one-half hours for crash investigation and cleanup.

The 17-year-old only suffered minor injuries from the original crash and was taken to Regional Hospital.