Semi driver killed in accident with horse trailer in NW Indiana

• Reprints

PORTER COUNTY, Ind.- A semi-trailer truck driver was killed early Saturday along the Indiana Toll Road when he hit a horse trailer that had broken free from an SUV.

The wreck happened about 12:23 a.m. on the Indiana Toll Road just east of State Road 49 and the Chesterton exit, according to a press release from Indiana State Police. A 2003 Chevrolet Suburban pulling an empty 12-foot Shadow horse trailer was traveling west on the toll road when the trailer came loose.

The trailer went through the median and crossed into eastbound lanes, said the release.

The semi, pulling double trailers, hit it, the release said. A piece of the loose trailer reportedly broke off and flew through the semi’s windshield, striking the driver and causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

The semi crossed into the westbound lanes and finally ended up in a ditch north of the roadway, the release said. The driver suffered blunt force trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene from his injuries. He was not identified early Saturday pending family notification.

The Suburban’s driver was not injured.

Eastbound lanes and the right westbound lane were closed for about 30 minutes after the crash, the release said. It is unclear whether the Suburban’s driver will be charged or cited.