Friday morning, in Porter County just before 3 a.m. troopers were dispatched to a crash involving a semi and another truck on I-94 east-bound, near the 23 mile-marker. This is around one mile east of the Burns Harbor/Porter exit ramp. The initial officer on-scene located a male subject, later identified as 38 year old Ryan E. Greer of Knox, lying in the roadway. A semi was fully engulfed and another truck with orange traffic barrels was located in the south ditch in the trees. A helicopter was originally contacted but it was cancelled when it was determined that Greer was deceased.
Preliminary investigation shows that a tractor/trailer was east-bound when for unknown reasons it drove onto the right shoulder. Parked on the right shoulder, with its amber warning lights activated, was a Dodge Ram straight truck. The vehicle was stopped on the shoulder due to the occupants being construction workers and they were actively performing maintenance to the orange construction zone signs along I-94. Greer stepped out of the left side of the truck at approximately the same time it was rear-ended by the semi. This impact resulted in the driver sustaining fatal injuries. The impact caused the Dodge to travel down the right ditch and into the trees.The semi continued east, crossed all lanes of travel and struck the concrete median wall where it burst into flames. The semi driver, a 54 year old from Alberta, Canada, was able to escape injury. The trailer was loaded with 37,000 lbs. of frozen pork.
Formal charges or citations are pending the outcome of the investigation and will be determined by the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Indiana State Police would like to stress the importance of slowing down for construction zones and yielding to emergency vehicles when they are stopped on the side of the roadways. Drive through these construction zones as if your family member or loved one is working. By driving safely, you will make it to your destination and construction workers will have a safer working environment and most importantly, also be able to go home at the end of their shift.