Semi driver loses trailer on I-80/94, doesn’t realize for 7 miles

A semi driver lost his trailer while driving on I-80/94 in northwest Indiana early Tuesday and didn’t realize it for seven miles, according to police.

The Louisiana man was driving a 2015 Freightliner pulling double trailers east on the interstate near the Grant Street exit in Gary about 4:35 a.m. when a tractor trailer in the middle right lane came into his lane and sideswiped the driver’s side mirror, according to Indiana State Police.

The semi veered to the right onto the outer shoulder, then overcorrected back into the right lane, causing the rear second trailer to fishtail, become detached and roll onto its side, police said. It came to rest in the left and middle lanes of eastbound I-80.

The driver and continued heading east and didn’t realize the trailer had been lost until he pulled over before entering the Indiana Toll Road, police said. The tractor trailer that sideswiped the original truck was not found.

The overturned trailer, which was carrying miscellaneous packages from Amazon, did not lose its load, police said.

The middle lanes were closed for about two hours to upright and tow the trailer.