Tractor-Trailer Fire Halts Interstate 70 Traffic
Putnam County-This evening at 7:19, Indiana State Police and Putnam County emergency agencies responded to a tractor-trailer fire in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 32 mile marker. There was no crash involved and no injuries reported.
Preliminary investigation revealed a white 2011 Volvo tractor, pulling a box trailer loaded with frozen chicken, was eastbound on I-70 when the driver, Ronald G. Weidenhammer, age 52, of Leesport, Pennsylvania, noticed smoke within the driver’s compartment. Weidenhammer was able to steer the tractor-trailer to the emergency shoulder, but was unable to suppress the growing fire. The Landis Trucking Company unit was traveling from Missouri to Pennsylvania.
Members of the Reelsville and Cloverdale Fire Departments extinguished the fire around 8:30 this evening. The eastbound lanes of I-70 were closed for nearly one hour. Currently the eastbound passing lane is open for traffic. A specific cause of the fire has not been determined. The vehicles and contents were considered a total loss.
Indiana State Police Officers First Sergeant Jeff Hearon and Trooper Derek Baker responded to the scene, as well as Reelsville and Cloverdale Fire Departments.
Under the Law, criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
-30-
WATTS
