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ISP:Use deadly I-70 crash as reminder during construction season

WAYNE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – A 25-year-old is recovering at home after the SUV she was riding in was squeezed in between two semis in a crash Sunday afternoon.

It happened at mile maker 145 on the east bound lanes of I-70 in Wayne County.

“A truck coming in your lane and you have nowhere to go especially in a construction zone,” said Jennifer George as she was traveling though Wayne County from Springfield, OH.

“You’re slamming on your brakes and you don’t know if you’re going to get smashed or not. It’s scary.”

“I’m absolutely nervous about semi trucks being on the road,” said Heather Dazley, who was also traveling on I-70 near the site of the crash.

INDOT says rear-end crashes are the most common in construction zones.

They say the crashes are usually caused by traveling too fast, and not leaving a safe distance between vehicles.

“It’s not our agencies responsibility to attribute fault for these types of crashes, but we do evaluate why they’re happening,” said Nathan Riggs, the spokesman for INDOT.

Riggs said as the construction season goes on, more work zones will pop up, and most of the work will be done at night and on weekends. INDOT suggests to minimize the risk of a crash to pay attention to signage, plan your trip ahead of time to avoid work zones, and slow down.

“That could save your life, that could save the life of a worker or another motorist,” said Riggs.

Indiana State Police issued the semi truck driver a ticket for driving too fast.

ISP said the penalty could be increased, but that would depend on the Wayne County prosecutor.