NORTHWEST INDIANA - A 57 year-old man died Monday night after driving the wrong way on the Indiana Toll Road and getting into a head-on collision with a semi.
Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Glen Fifield says it happened after 5 p.m.
Indiana State Police Toll Road received 911 calls of a vehicle crash at the 40.6 mile-marker involving a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle. The car was reportedly traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes prior to the crash.
Police say a preliminary investigation shows that a white 2000 Ford Ranger was westbound in the passing lane of eastbound I-80 (Indiana Toll Road). A 2017 Freightliner tractor-trailer was eastbound in the passing lane and the two vehicles impacted head-on.
The Freightliner came to a rest in the median, while the Ford Ranger crossed the median before coming to a rest in the left lane of the westbound lanes.
The driver of the Ford Ranger, 57 year-old Richard Reese, from LaPorte, was pronounced dead at the scene by the LaPorte County Coroner.
The driver of the tractor-trailer was 28 year-old Ivan Dimitrovski, from Crown Point. He was not injured. The semi was loaded with approximately 20,000 lbs. of bread. Toxicology results are pending.
The left lane was closed for approximately 5 hours for investigation and cleanup.
