Semi flips in construction zone on I-69

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – A tractor-trailer flipped in a construction zone and closed both northbound lanes on I-69 in northern Allen County early Thursday morning.

Emergency crews were called to the 319 mile marker around 2:30 a.m. where they found a semi on its side down in a creek bed between two bridge spans.

The driver was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

The truck was traveling in the inner lane of the construction zone where the lanes split near the Allen-DeKalb County line. The truck then split the bridge spans and crashed through construction materials before flipping on its side and coming to a stop just short of the creek. The truck came to a stop about 15 feet short of water.

Tow truck drivers said the semi was hauling a partial load of about 10,000 pounds of vegetable cooking oil. Several of the boxes and oil crashed out the front of the trailer, but it’s unclear if any substance made it into the water.

Allen County Homeland Security was notified of the crash and will inspect the area for any contamination in the water.

The Allen County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the crash.

The northbound lanes were closed for about an hour and then one lane was opened while crews removed the truck from the creek bed.

Crews were expected to remove the truck from the median sometime later Thursday.

It’s unclear how much damage the truck caused to the construction site and if it will cause a delay in the project.