Tippecanoe County deputy injured responding to crash
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Weather created problems Tuesday morning for motorists, police, firefighters, paramedics, emergency management personnel and wrecker drivers in the area.
Tippecanoe County sheriff’s Capt. Rob Hainje, an accident reconstruction specialist, was hit while he was en route to an jackknifed-semi accident in which someone was seriously injured, according to the sheriff’s office.
He complained of pain and was taken to a Lafayette-area hospital for treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.
Hainje was southbound on U.S. 52 near Wyandotte Road approaching the accident about 11 a.m. when a northbound car lost control on the slick road, slid through the median and collided with driver’s side of Hainje’s police SUV, according to the sheriff’s office.
The other driver was not injured, according to the sheriff’s office.
Meanwhile, deputies and other accident reconstructionists investigated the crash at U.S. 52 and Tippecanoe County Road 600 South.
A southbound driver lost control of his semi, according to the sheriff’s office. The rig slid through the median and into a northbound passenger car. The driver of the car was seriously injured, according to the sheriff’s office.
The morning interstate commute foreshadowed the chaotic morning as snow intensified throughout the morning. The sky began to clear around noon.
But hours before the sun broke through the clouds, an accident in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 between the Dayton and Frankfort exits snarled traffic. It was the one of the earliest traffic problems.
About 9 a.m., Indiana State Police Sgt. Jeremy Piers said troopers were working to open one lane on I-65 to allow traffic to move again.
About 10:30 a.m., Piers released preliminary information about the accident and the backup that started around 8 a.m.
A vehicle ran off the road and rolled over, Piers said. A second car stopped to help and was hit. No one was injured, Piers said. Those two accidents caused the backup that plagued motorists in the area.
Light snow started falling in the area about 8 a.m. Tuesday. It is not known whether the accident was caused by the road conditions.
But that accident wasn’t the only problem area.
At 10:30 a.m., road conditions worsened, and scanner traffic indicated several traffic incidents, including the serious crash on U.S. 52 and County Road 600 South.
At 10:53 a.m., 511in.org indicated black ice was reported in the area on I-65 near the Frankfort exit.
About 10:30 a.m., Piers said northbound traffic on I-65 was backed up at the Lafayette/Indiana 26 for an incident, and southbound traffic south of the Dayton exit was snarled. He did not have details on either incident.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Tippecanoe County deputy injured in crash en route to accident
