Distracted Driver Dies in Detroit, Another Causes I-65 Pile-up in Indiana

by Jana Ritter - Published: 6/03/2016

In two separate cases of distracted driving, a woman has caused her own death, and a truck driver has caused a pile-up leading to his arrest and likely the loss of his job. On Thursday evening a 67-year-old woman was driving along Interstate 75 in Detroit, heading towards the Ambassador Bridge to the Canadian border. Michigan State Police believe she was distracted by her cell phone and did not notice the traffic stopped ahead. She came upon a semi-truck that was stopped in the right northbound lane near Clark Street, waiting to cross the Ambassador Bridge into Canada. Tragically, the woman's Chevy Impala crashed into the back of the trailer and became wedged underneath it.

                                                              

"Based on information obtained during the initial investigation, it appears she may have been distracted by her cellphone," police said. The woman had to be cut out of the mangled wreckage and she was taken to Detroit Receiving Hospital, but died soon after. Her name has not been released to the public.

                                                              

Earlier on Thursday, another incident involving a driver failing to slow down resulted in a chain reaction crash involving six semi-trucks. The crash occurred at around 4:15 pm on I-65 at the 92-mile marker in Johnson County, Indiana. This time it was a truck driver who failed to slow down for stopped traffic ahead. According to Indiana Police, Jose Montalvo, 43, of Hialeah, Florida, was driving a red 2000 Freightliner when he came upon stopped traffic in the right lane. It is uncertain whether he even noticed the traffic at all or simply too late, but instead of stopping, he rear-ended another semi, which caused a chain reaction involving six other semis and a van.

Fortunately everyone survived the crash and only one driver was hospitalized with minor injuries. However, Montalvo didn’t stick around to find out and fled the scene on foot before police arrived. He was later located by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and taken to jail on charges of driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of the crash and driving without insurance. Montalvo was also cited for following to closely and several federal motor carrier violations. The northbound lanes of I-65 near Franklin were closed for nearly three hours while investigators surveyed the crash site and crews worked to clear the road.

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