Indiana State Police sent this bulletin at 05/31/2017 12:30 PM EDT
UPDATE
The family of the deceased has been notified. The driver has been identified as Lester C. Fason, 28 of Sauk Village, Illinois. Fason died from blunt force trauma, he was wearing a seat belt.
Westbound traffic is open but eastbound traffic is down to one lane (left lane construction lane). These lane restrictions are expected to last several (3-4) hours more. They have up-righted one trailer, need to offload and up-right second trailer, upright the tractor, clean-up the roadway and surrounding area. The hazardous material crew is on the scene.
See original release below:
Indiana State Police sent this bulletin at 05/31/2017 09:44 AM EDT
La Porte County – a semi pulling double trailers crashed, early this morning, on I-94 eastbound at the 36-mile marker (this is two miles east of US 421/Michigan City exit).
Preliminary investigation revealed at approximately 6:06 a.m., this Wednesday, May 31st, 2017, morning, a semi pulling double trailers, went off the road for unknown reasons and rolled over. The tractor wrapped behind the bridge pillar at that location and the driver (single occupant) was trapped inside. The double trailers, carrying food product and paint, also overturned and their contents were spilled on the roadway, shoulder, and into Trail Creek waterway. Diesel fuel and oil from the tractor was also lost.
The driver had to be extricated from the semi and an air ambulance was requested. The driver succumbed to his injuries before the air ambulance arrived. West bound traffic is open but two lanes east bound are closed. The only lane of traffic opened is the closed construction lane (three lanes in this area, one closed for construction). This lane due to being a closed construction lane is not an optimal lane for driving.
Please choose an alternate route of travel!! Expect long delays and backups in this area.
It is unknown how long these lanes will be closed for clean-up, up-righting the semi and trailers, and investigation of the crash.
Name of the driver has been withheld pending notification of the family.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.