Tow truck driver dies in crash on icy Indiana Toll Road
SCOTT, Ind. (WISH) — Icy roads and motorists moving too fast contributed to the death of a tow truck driver from Michigan in a Thursday morning crash on the Indiana Toll Road, Indiana State Police say.
An earlier crash had caused a diesel spill and left a semi in the center median of the toll road, also known as interstates 80 and 90, at the 114.2-mile marker. That’s near an overpass for LaGrange County roads 700 West and 675 West, north of the unincorporated community of Scott.
Crews about 9:40 a.m. Thursday were removing the semi from the center median when the next crash happened.
Tow truck driver Martin Troyer, 63, of Sturgis, Michigan, was parked on the inside shoulder of the westbound lanes when a white 2021 Dodge Ram truck pulling an enclosed trailer lost control. The truck went through the median and sideswiped the tow truck. Umidjon Abduazizov, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, was driving the Dodge.
“After hitting the tow truck, the Dodge continued eastbound in the median, striking the tow truck driver and the semi from the earlier crash,” Sgt. Ted Bohner of the state police said in a news release. “A worker with the remediation company cleaning the diesel spill also received injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. The crash caused the enclosed trailer to separate from the Dodge pulling it.”
Drugs nor alcohol were believed to be factors in the fatal crash.
Westbound traffic was restricted for about four hours for the crash investigation and cleanup.
No arrests were announced. State police were continuing their investigation, which will be forwarded to the LaGrange County prosecutor for review.
The community of Scott sits near the Indiana-Michigan border and is about a 50-minute drive east of South Bend.