A 71-year-old truck driver from Illinois died early Saturday morning in a crash that started with a Crothersville woman hitting a deer on Interstate 65 in Scott County, police report.
Johnny G. Skarb of Wonder Lake was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near the 26½-mile-marker by the Scott County Coroner’s Office, according to a report from Sgt. Carey Huls with the Indiana State Police Sellersburg Post.
Huls said Skarb was driving north on the interstate when he hit a 2015 Nissan Versa Note, which had been disabled after its driver, Veronica McCall of Crothersville, hit a deer.
After the crash, McCall left the vehicle, which remained partly in the right lane. A short time later, a 2014 Volvo semi tractor-trailer driven by Skarb approached from the south and struck the unoccupied vehicle, Huls said.
After the collision, the semitrailer traveled off the east side of the interstate and up an embankment, coming to rest in a treeline.
Skarb had to be extricated from his truck, and because of weather conditions, no medical helicopters were able to respond, Huls said. McCall was not injured.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Department and Scottsburg Police Department responded to the wreck, reported at about 4 a.m, along with personnel with the Scottsburg Fire Department and Monroe Township Fire Department. Units on scene also requested assistance from Indiana State Police, including a crash reconstruction team.
Northbound I-65 remained closed until approximately 9:30 a.m., and all northbound traffic was diverted onto U.S. 31 while the interstate was closed for the investigation and cleanup.