Full Notification

Delaware County – This morning around 11:30 a.m. State Police received a report of multiple vehicles crashed at the 248 mile marker on I-69 in Delaware County, with the interstate blocked on both sides. Troopers responded along with deputies from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department and arrived to find that one school bus, 5 semis and over twenty passenger vehicles had been involved in separate crashes.

The crashes all occurred within a quarter mile stretch of I-69 north bound and south bound at the 248 mile marker. Both sides of the interstate were blocked for hours, with north bound traffic being diverted off onto SR 28, and south bound traffic being diverted onto SR26 in Grant County.

Troopers were able to clear and reopen the north bound side around 3:30 p.m. South bound I-69 wasn’t reopened until around 6:30 p.m., as crews not only had to remove numerous crashed vehicles but also had to clean up packages from a Fed Ex Truck that had been scattered on the highway.

The preliminary investigation is that the collisions started when a south bound school bus from Eastern Allen County ran into the rear of a south bound minivan in the driving lane. Other crashes began happening as a result of that initial crash.

Students on the south bound school bus from Eastern Allen Co. were transported from the scene, with 14 checked out for minor injuries, and six uninjured. At this time it’s believed that three other people were transported from the crashes to IU Health’s Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, all with non life threatening injuries.

The crashes remain under investigation, and it’s expected to take several days for investigators to compile all the information. Indiana State Troopers had taken at least 8 multiple vehicle crash reports around the 248 mile marker by 6 p.m., and were still discovering additional crashes in the backup.

According to troopers at the scene, most of the collisions were the result of motorists following too closely or driving too fast during the unexpected white out conditions.