ISP: Driver arrested after six-vehicle crash on Indiana Toll Road
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — A semi driver has been arrested following a six–vehicle crash Monday on the Indiana Toll Road that killed two people and sent five others to the hospital.
Chasen Thompson, 26, of Hamlin, New York, was arrested for possession of marijuana.
State troopers were called to the crash around 3 p.m. Monday in the eastbound lanes of the Indiana Toll Road near mile marker 71.
Trooper Tyler Vermillion says there was slow traffic due to work being done on a bridge east of the crash. Thompson was driving his semi and failed to slow down, causing him to crash into multiple vehicles, Vermillion says.
The crash killed 45-year-old Eric Klein, of Ohio, after his Jeep caught on fire during the crash. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash also killed the passenger of another car that was hit. 82-year-old Jacqueline Luczak, of Illinois, died before she could be take to a hospital.
Some of the other drivers and passengers who were involved were taken to the hospital for various injuries.
Thompson submitted to a blood draw and those results are pending.
State police are still looking into what happened and the St. Joseph County prosecutor will decide on any additional charges.