Full Notification

Jasper County – Last night at approximately 9:39 p.m. (CST), officers from the Indiana State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on I-65 near the 227 mile marker, in which nitric acid was spilled onto the interstate.

The preliminary crash investigation by Trooper Zachary Beaver revealed that Larry Elsass, 57, Wapakoneta, OH, was driving a 2007 Western Star semi-tractor southbound on I-65 near the 227 mile marker. The semi-tractor, which was pulling a tanker trailer containing nitric acid, drove off the interstate and into the median. The semi-tractor jackknifed and came to rest on the drivers’ side. Nitric acid was lost from the trailer.

Elsass and Trooper Beaver both went to a Crown Point hospital to be checked for exposure to nitric acid fumes. They were both treated and released.

The interstate was closed for approximately 14 hours while hazardous materials teams from various fire departments and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management cleaned up the spill, and helped upright the tanker trailer.

This is an ongoing investigation, but at this time neither the use of alcohol nor narcotics is suspected as having contributed to this crash. Elsass was driving for Cessna Transport based in Kenton, OH.

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