Trooper's Escape From Wreckage Called 'Miraculous'

FRANKFORT, Ind. -- Police who arrived at the scene of a crash involving an Indiana state trooper thought they would be burying one of their own, but Sgt. Rich Kelly made a miraculous escape from the wreckage of his police cruiser on Tuesday.

Kelly is expected to be released from a Lafayette hospital on Wednesday following a crash on Interstate 65 that involved two tractor-trailers, 6News' Jennifer Carmack reported.

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Trooper's Escape From Wreckage Called 'Miraculous'
Slideshow: Trooper Injured In I-65 Crash
Raw Video: Crash Involves State Trooper
Trooper Injured In I-65 Crash

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Officials said Kelly pulled over a truck on northbound Interstate 65 near Frankfort. The 12-year veteran had gone back to his car to fill out paperwork when another tractor-trailer slammed into him.

"It's amazing that Trooper Kelly survived, let alone walk away from the vehicle and make a phone call and ask for his own help," said Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Brian Olehy.

Moments after the crash, a trooper rushed Kelly's wife, LeAnn, to Lafayette's Home Hospital, where her husband was taken.

"I was just praying and thinking, and there were a lot of things going through my head (such as) Trooper Gary Dudley that was killed, things like that were all I could think of," LeAnn Kelly said.

The wreck left Rich Kelly with a fractured vertebra and numerous cuts and bruises, but he was alive.

"They let me right in to see him and he was a little confused … and I went outside and I broke down and I thanked God I don't know how many times," LeAnn Kelly said.

Rich Kelly told his wife about what he remembered about the crash.

"He said, 'I don't know how I made it out,' and I said, 'It's OK because you did and you're here, and that's all that matters,'" Leann Kelly said.

The Kellys have been together since seventh grade. They have four daughters.

"They need their dad, and God knew that this time wasn't his time," LeAnn Kelly said.

Investigators said the trucker that hit Kelly's car did not abide by the state's move-over law and caused the crash.

"My heart goes out to families that have lost loved ones in accidents like that," LeAnn Kelly said. "I came close. It's hard."

Police said the crash investigation could take as much as four weeks to complete. The Clinton County prosecutor will decided whether to file charges.