Dozens Of Wrecks, Slide-Offs Reported On Icy Roads

Dozens of wrecks and slide-offs were reported Tuesday on interstate highways in central Indiana, where light freezing rain and snow were falling.

A wreck involving two semitrailer trucks and a third vehicle prompted authorities to close eastbound Interstate 70 a few miles of New Castle late Tuesday afternoon, state police said. No injury appeared life-threatening, police said.

One lane had been reopened by 5:45 p.m. Information on what led to the wreck wasn't available, though police said the highway was slick with ice.

Part Of I-65 Closed For Hours

A portion of Interstate 65 just south of Indianapolis was closed for several hours Tuesday morning because of numerous crashes and icy conditions, and slippery weather was making travel tough elsewhere in central Indiana.

Southbound lanes of I-65 were closed between mile markers 95 and 100 in Johnson County. One lane reopened at about 9 a.m., but officials said they expected the left lane to be closed at mile marker 97 through the early afternoon because of a crash involving an overturned tractor-trailer.

Indiana State Police said more than a dozen crashes were reported on southbound I-65 in an hour, starting at 6:30 a.m. Police said freezing rain that was falling at the time had transformed the road into a sheet of ice.

State police said the most severe crash happened at about 6 a.m. when a driver lost control of her car and hit another vehicle and a tractor-trailer. A 4-year-old child lost teeth and suffered facial injuries, but neither those injuries nor any others on Interstate highways in the Indianapolis area Tuesday were believed to be life-threatening, police said.

"Virtually all of the crashes we've experienced so far were preventable," state police Lt. Jay Nawrocki said. "Drivers must be aware of existing road conditions and reduce their speed accordingly."

State police said they responded to more than 90 reports of crashes or slide-offs on highways in Marion, Boone, Johnson and Shelby counties from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Further north, state police said they responded to 16 crashes or slide-offs in Fulton, Cass, Miami, Tipton, Wabash and Howard counties from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation said southbound lanes of I-65 quickly became slick because the earliest crash blocked their ability to treat the road in that area.

Other crashes were reported on interstates 465 and 70 and on various streets in the Indianapolis area.

The crashes happened as a storm system delivered a glancing blow of snow, sleet and ice to central Indiana.