Three people were airlifted to the hospital with serious and potentially life-theratening injuries after a crash on the Indiana Toll Road in Elkhart County. It happened around 4:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in the eastbound lanes near the Elkhart toll plaza exit when a semi and and SUV collided. All lanes in both directions were closed for hours to get the air ambulance the space it needed and for the crash investigation.

The Indiana State Police released the following information about the crash:

Around 4:45 p.m. today troopers responded to a serious crash between a semi and a passenger car on the Indiana Toll Road that required three people to be flown from the scene with serious injuries.  The crash occurred in the eastbound lanes near mile marker 97, approximately 5 miles east of the Elkhart exit.  

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Nathan Littlefield indicates that a red 2020 Mack, towing a tanker trailer, driven by Donta Johns, 37 of Chicago, IL was traveling eastbound when it approached traffic that was travelling slowly due to a crash that had occurred earlier in the afternoon. Johns moved from the right lane to the left lane due to the crash ahead. As Johns slowed down, a gray Subaru traveling eastbound did not slow down and drove into the back of the tanker trailer.

The male driver of the Subaru, a female front seat passenger, and a male back seat passenger were all airlifted from the scene to Memorial Hospital in South Bend, IN with serious injuries and potentially life-threatening injuries.

Westbound lanes and eastbound lanes of the Indiana Toll Road were shut down for approximately 40 minutes for three helicopters to land and load patients to be airlifted. The right lane opened to eastbound traffic at approximately 7:40 p.m. The left lane remains closed for crash reconstruction.