LATEST: Indiana State Police issued a statement on the afternoon of April 26, 2024:

“The driver of the second semi listed below has been identified as 55-year-old Julianne Reid of Indianapolis, Indiana. Julianne Reid was driving a 2019 Kenworth tractor with trailer and was pronounced dead at the scene.  Investigators believe Reid’s semi-truck was slowing to stop at the time of the crash.

“The driver of the third semi listed below has been identified as 38-year-old Damion Calvin Stewart of Miami, Florida. Stewart was driving a 2021 Freightliner at the time of the crash and was also pronounced dead at the scene.  Investigators believe Stewarts truck initially struck Reid’s Kenworth from behind before both vehicles caught fire.

“The driver in the sleeper of the third semi, flown by medical hospital to University Hospital in Louisville, is listed in critical condition after being rushed to the hospital with severe burn injuries.”

UPDATE: Indiana State Police posted on X at 11:14 a.m. on Tuesday the right lane is now open on I-65 at the 33 mile-marker.

AUSTIN, Ind. (WISH) — Two truck drivers died in a fiery crash involving three semis late Monday night, closing a part of I-65 in Scott County for several hours.

Indiana State Police said in a release said the crash happened around 11:50 p.m. Monday near the 33-mile marker, just north of Scottsburg.

Crash investigators believe that a white Volvo semitrailer was stopped in traffic due to construction. Shortly after, a second semitrailer slowed to stop behind the first truck, but a third truck failed to stop and rammed into the back of the second. The second truck was then pushed into the back of the first one.

The second and third semitrailers immediately caught on fire after the crash. The drivers of those trucks died at the scene, while a passenger in the sleeper of the third truck was flown to a hospital with severe burns.

All lanes of I-65 southbound were closed were several hours while crews cleaned and investigated. The right lane of the highway was finally opened at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Traffic was being diverted off Exit 34 near Austin onto U.S. 31 southbound. ISP says anyone traveling toward Louisville should seek alternate routes.