STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A Georgia man on Friday was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on the Indiana Toll Road, Indiana State Police said in a news release Saturday.

At 5:15 p.m. Friday, Indiana State Police troopers responded to a personal injury crash involving two semitrucks and a pick-up truck on westbound I-90 at the 146.6 mile-marker, just east of the I-69 junction in Fremont.

Investigators believe a 2020 Freightliner semitruck was traveling westbound in the right lane of I-90 approaching stopped traffic (due to a car fire incident) at the 146.6 mile marker. The Freightliner failed to slow or stop for the backed-up traffic. The Freightliner swerved to the right to avoid colliding with a 2016 Ford F-150 truck that was stopped in the right lane, side swiped the passenger side of that truck, and then impacted the rear of a 2008 Mack semitruck that was stopped ahead of the Ford. The impact caused extreme damage to the cab of the Freightliner. The driver and passenger of the Freightliner were trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated by Fremont Fire Department personnel. 

The driver of the Freightliner was pronounced dead at the scene by the Steuben County Coroner’s Office. The driver of the Freightliner was identified as Melvin Chakkalackal Alexander, 34, of Atlanta, Georgia. Family notifications were made. The passenger, an adult male, was taken to a Fort Wayne hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The drivers of the Ford F-150 and the Mack semitruck were not injured in the crash. They were taken to a local hospital for chemical testing, which is required of all drivers involved in a serious bodily injury or fatal crash in Indiana.  

The westbound lanes of I-90 were shut down for over five hours for the investigation and cleanup.