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Don A. Abbott

53

Don A. Abbott

6/6/1939 - 5/3/1995

IDOT employee killed on I-74

Semi slams into state dump truck pulling flashing arrow

An Indiana Department of Transportation employee from Greensburg was killed Wednesday afternoon while highway workers were performing maintenance on Interstate 74 west of Greensburg.

Mr. Abbott was pronounced dead at 4:12 p.m. by the Decatur County Coroner. Mr. Abbott died from massive trauma to his head after being struck by a state highway truck, which was hit in the rear by a westbound semi-tractor trailer, according to the Coroner. The driver of the semi was transported by Decatur County EMS and admitted to Decatur County Memorial Hospital. The driver suffered a possible concussion and facial injuries.

The accident occurred at 2:43 p.m. at the 124-mile marker on I-74, just east of the St. Paul exit in Decatur County. IDOT workers were performing routine cleaning maintenance on the Mill Creek Bridge at the time.

According to the Indiana State Police in Versailles, traffic at the location was moved from the right lane to the passing lane and a dump truck belonging to IDOT pulling an arrow board was parked in the right lane. The merge left arrow was activated on the back of the dump truck. Mr. Abbott was the driver of the dump truck and was standing near the left front portion of the vehicle, according to police.

The driver of the semi-truck carrying asphalt and aluminum roofing was westbound and failed to see the state highway truck and the arrow board. The semi struck the arrow board and dump truck, which then struck Mr. Abbott.

The investigating trooper said the next morning that it is possible that the trucker may have fallen asleep while driving. He also said results of an alcohol test on the driver were pending. "The entire cab of the truck was on fire so nothing could be recovered from the inside," the trooper said. "Even his log book was burned." The trucker was en route to Franklin, Ind., according to the trooper.

The IDOT maintenance worker in charge of the group of employees at the bridge, said he wasn't sure how the accident occurred. "We were down to one lane and we had the arrow board flashing. Traffic was in the passing lane and I don't know what happened," he said. "Somebody yelled 'run,'" He said the workers were nearing completion on the bridge maintenance.

A retired Shelbyville firefighter was one of the first on the scene of the accident with a St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department truck. "The cab of the semi was completely involved when I got here," he said. "We also had fire in the back of the dump truck. We didn't know what was in the back of the semi trailer and then I was worried when I found out (it was asphalt and aluminum roofing.") "We're always worried (about contents of a trailer) when we have a semi accident," a Greensburg firefighter said at the scene. "You never know what's in it and it's always dangerous."

Diesel fuel and some of the contents of the semi truck spilled into a ditch leading to Mill Creek, according to reports. IDOT workers on the scene blocked off the ditch to keep the material from reaching the creek. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management was called to the scene and were expected to return the next day, according to the Decatur County Sheriff's Department. However, a spokesman of IDEM said a report of the incident had not been made as of the next day.

The interstate was closed for approximately one hour due to the accident. Officials were on the scene until 9 p.m. and investigation was continuing. The ISP was assisted by The Decatur County Sheriff's Department, Greensburg Police Department, Greensburg Fire Department, St. Paul Volunteer Fire Department, and Decatur County EMS.

Source: Greensburg Daily News 5/4/1995