The Indiana Toll Road was closed for several hours Friday, after a semi truck apparently drove off the bridge over the Calumet River near Hammond.
Indiana State Police believe a UPS tractor was pulling an empty trailer westbound in the left lane around 2:00 a.m., when it apparently left the lane and went over the median wall. The tractor reportedly landed in the river, while the trailer remained almost vertical, stuck between the eastbound and westbound bridges. Then, police say the truck caught on fire.
Hammond Fire and SCUBA were called, due to concerns that the driver might be trapped in the cab. But police say he was "soon found clinging to a bridge support."
The driver, Marc A. Rupert Sr., 32, of Lansing, was taken to St. Catherine’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.
