A serious accident on Interstate 65 south of the Franklin exit caused both the north and southbound lanes to close temporarily Tuesday.
NOAH CRENSHAW | DAILY JOURNAL
A child died in a two-car crash that shut down parts of Interstate 65 for several hours Tuesday.
Dispatchers received a call at 9:47 a.m. Tuesday about a partially disabled vehicle in the left lane of I-65 northbound, near mile marker 86 south of Franklin. As police were responding, dispatchers received multiple calls about a serious crash in the same location, according to an Indiana State Police news release.
When first responders arrived, they found a 3-year-old child trapped in a car seat in the backseat of a heavily damaged car. The child was extricated and taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead, according to the news release.
State police believe the passenger car had pulled to the left side of the highway’s northbound lanes and stopped for unknown reasons, remaining partially in the left lane. A pick-up truck which was also traveling northbound struck the rear end of the car, police said.
The drivers of the car and truck were also taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, according to the news release.
All lanes of I-65 between mile markers 87.2 to 87.4 south of Franklin were closed after the accident. The southbound lanes were reopened about 11 a.m., but northbound lanes remained closed until after 2 p.m. The northbound lanes between Edinburgh and Franklin were closed for nearly four hours while police investigated the crash and crews removed the wreckage, police said.
The accident remains under investigation by state police and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Fire departments from Amity and Franklin responded to the scene, along with SEALS Ambulance Service.
The victims’ identities have not been released at this time.
