ISP: Separate Toll Road crashes happened at same mile marker near work zone

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. (WNDU) - Indiana State Police are offering additional words of caution to drivers after a pair of Tuesday crashes happened in work zones -- at the same mile marker.

“Because within a short period of time, we had two crashes, that, that could have been completely prevented. And the crazy thing is both of these crashes happened near the 94 mile marker on the Indiana Toll Road, as traffic was slowing down for worksite,” remarked Sgt. Ted Bohner, the Bremen Post public information officer.

The first crash happened just before 3 p.m. on Tuesday while the second occurred just after 7 p.m. when a vehicle, in each instance, failed to slow down for slowed or stopped traffic. No one suffered life-threatening injuries.

“Yesterday, the outcome was, nobody died, which is, you know, miraculous, especially in this line of work with what we see,” Bohner said.

Staying safe in slowed or stopped traffic

For drivers who are following the rules in slowed or stopped traffic, Bohner offered the following tips:

-Don’t follow vehicles closely

-Allow space for a buffer zone to move out of traffic

-Use rearview mirrors

-Allow yourself an “out” (for example, see if there’s room on the shoulder if you need to move out of the way of an accident)

Bohner said even turning the steering wheel just before being hit could have lifesaving results.

“That could push you out of the way of the vehicle that’s in front of you and lessen your likelihood to be injured and definitely lessen your likelihood of, of possibly being killed in that crash,” he said.

Bohner said avoid daydreaming while driving because that reduces attentiveness on the road. He strongly advised the use of seatbelts to avoid being ejected from a vehicle during a crash.

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