The driver of a semi that caught fire and fell from Interstate 65 in downtown Louisville survived with minor injuries.
Louisville Fire Captain Donovan Sims confirmed the driver was able to escape and sustained only minor injuries to lower extremities. Sims said there are reports the driver may have been able to jump from the cab of the semi. The driver was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.
A MetroSafe supervisor confirmed a call about an accident came in at 10:14 a.m. Friday about the single vehicle crash on Interstate 65. TRIMARC cameras showed the truck hanging off the I-65 near Jefferson Street in flames. Then the truck fell from the interstate and landed near I-64 and I-71 north, according to Sims.
A plume of black smoke rose from the crash scene under the interstate after the fire was extinguished by Louisville firefighters. Witnesses said they heard explosions around the time of the crash.
Louisville Fire Department received mutual aid from Jeffersonville Fire and EMS.
All lanes on I-65 were reopened for the afternoon commute.
At a news conference, Mayor Craig Greenberg said the semi trailer was empty at the time of the crash, but the cause of the crash hasn’t been determined. He said investigators are checking to see if the accident was captured on any of the cameras in the area.
The Louisville Metro Police Traffic Unit will lead the investigation into what happened. Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said there were three previous crashes in the same area including one on Kentucky Derby weekend.
Greenberg said his office has reached out to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which has jurisdiction over interstates. He said the city had already been working with the transportation cabinet about safety along the I-65 corridor through Louisville, after a series of recent crashes in the area. He said the city has come up with strategies to deal with safety along the interstate, but he did not elaborate on that.
Engineers inspected I-65 and found no damage to the roadway or Kennedy Bridge.
Source: WDRB
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