Tanker truck driver dies in fire accident in Nappanee

May 24 – NAPPANEE – The driver of a tanker truck was killed in a serious accident in Nappanee.

The truck caught fire after rolling over on its side on Tomahawk Trail in Nappanee.

Indiana State Police, assisting the Nappanee Police Department and Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office, reported around 12:55 p.m. Friday that Nappanee Police Department officers and an Indiana State Trooper were called to a single-vehicle rollover crash on Tomahawk Trail near ATC Trailers.

The tanker truck was destroyed and the pavement around it was badly charred. The Tomahawk Trail was closed in both directions around the area.

A preliminary investigation revealed that a tanker truck was traveling south on Tomahawk Trail when the truck presumably veered off the road to the right and lost control, a new ISP news release said. When the truck got back on the road, it rolled onto its right side and continued to slide south. The truck caught fire, spun out and came to a stop in the northbound lane, the statement said.

The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident by the Elkhart County Coroner.

The Elkhart County Coroner will positively identify the driver after an autopsy.

Fire departments from Nappanee, Bremen and Elkhart responded to the scene to bring the fire under control. The Indiana Department of Environmental Conservation was also called out because the truck was carrying flammable material.

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing and there is no further information to release at this time, ISP reported.