LAKE COUNTY, Ind. (IUSTV News) - Indiana State Police (ISP) has opened an investigation after a teen boy helping with a tire change on Interstate 80 was struck by a tire that had come off a passing semi.
ISP says they received calls around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday of a pedestrian hit along eastbound I-80. The investigation found a vehicle was parked on the right shoulder of the interstate, and that one of the passengers was outside of the vehicle changing a flat tire.
Police say a semi was eastbound on I-80 at the same time and was experiencing mechanical issues. A rear tire became unlatched and was still attached to the rim.
The tire hit the south barrier and moved east along the barrier wall, hitting the 15-year-old helping with the tire change. He was taken to an area hospital and then transferred to a Chicago hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries.
Four others in the vehicle sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the semi-driver submitted toxicology tests, a standard procedure for ISP.
Police say they don't believe alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash.
Lake County is in far northwestern Indiana.
