Dump truck loses load of asphalt shavings into car windshield on I-94

One person was injured, and three cars were damaged when a dump truck lost its load of asphalt shavings, much of it crashing through a windshield, on I-94 in northwest Indiana on Sunday.

It happened just before 9 a.m. Sunday, when a 1999 Ford F450 dump, owned by Gough Construction of Merrillville, Indiana, was eastbound on I-94 about three miles east of the Michigan City exit, according to Indiana State Police.

A tire blew out on the truck, causing the driver to lose control, ISP said. The truck spin out and struck the concrete median barrier wall. Its load of asphalt grindings then spilled over the concrete barrier wall and hit three vehicles in the eastbound left lane.

The first car, a 2016 Ford driven by 29-year-old Christopher Rzab of Tinley Park, suffered about $2,000 in damages from the asphalt grindings, but Rzab was not hurt, ISP said. A 2004 Honda Civic, driven by Yang Pao Vue, 19 of Sheboygan, sustained about $1,000 in damage.

Not so lucky was the driver of a 2002 Honda Civic. Youa Jee Xiong, 18, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, was injured when the asphalt grindings “went through his windshield and covered the inside of his vehicle from front to back,” police said.

Xiong suffered non-life threatening injuries and taken to Saint Anthony’s Hospital in Michigan City.

The driver of the truck, 35-year-old Kyle Lemons of Michigan City, was cited for having a leaky load.

Police said he initially left the scene of the crash, returning later, and alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. Charges are pending.