YORKTOWN — Traveling motorists faced major traffic disruptions on Interstate 69 Saturday afternoon after a commercial semi-truck caught fire, triggering an active diesel fuel spill across the roadway.
Emergency dispatchers first received reports of a commercial vehicle fire along the southbound lanes of I-69 near Yorktown at approximately 1:20 p.m.
Local fire crews rushed to the scene and successfully extinguished the tractor-trailer blaze. However, upon inspecting the charred wreckage, emergency personnel discovered that the truck’s fuel tanks had ruptured.
The collision and subsequent fire caused a significant amount of diesel fuel to actively leak onto the interstate. Environmental cleanup crews were immediately dispatched to the scene to mitigate the hazardous spill and prevent the fuel from contaminating local waterways.
To ensure the safety of motorists and clean-up crews, the Indiana State Police (ISP) completely shut down all southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted off the interstate at mile marker 255, with drivers rerouted onto State Road 26.
The combination of the vehicle fire, debris removal, and hazardous materials cleanup completely paralyzed the southbound corridor for several hours.
By 4:00 p.m., ISP confirmed that cleanup crews had made enough progress to safely reopen at least one southbound lane, allowing trapped traffic to slowly filter through the area.
At this time, authorities have not confirmed if the driver of the semi-truck or any first responders sustained injuries during the fire or the subsequent containment efforts. The exact cause of the initial engine fire remains under investigation by state police.
