Updated at 4:06 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 8.
Indiana State Police (ISP) have identified a truck driver who crashed through a weigh station on Interstate 74 early Wednesday morning.
According to an ISP report, James G. Bristol, 63, of Jefferson City, Tenn., was traveling westbound near the 171 mile marker close to the Indiana/Ohio state line when his 2021 Freightliner and box trailer left the road for an unknown reason and crashed into the station’s scale house, coming to rest inside of the building.
Investigators said that a medical issue may have played a role in the crash, according to the report. Bristol was pronounced dead at the scene.
Drugs and alcohol are not suspected in the crash, the report noted. An autopsy is pending, and the crash remains under investigation.
Original version
Indiana State Police (ISP) are investigating a fatal 18-wheeler accident at a weight station on Interstate 74 at mile marker 171.
According to ISP Sgt. Stephen Wheeles’ Twitter account, the driver left the roadway just after 5 a.m. Wednesday and crashed through a scale house at the West Harrison weigh station. The scale house was completely destroyed in the accident.
There were no employees inside at the time, and there were no other injuries, Wheeles wrote in a Twitter post.
ISP have not said yet what caused the crash, noting that “more information will be forthcoming.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
