Two people were killed and five others were injured in a crash that happened on the Indiana Toll Road not far from South Bend Wednesday afternoon.

“This is one of those devastating crashes that we see all too often once construction season gets started,” said Ted Bohner, sergeant with Indiana State Police.

Bohner said the crash happened near the 71-mile marker, which is just west of the South Bend exit. The call about the crash came in at about 3 pm. Bohner calls it a devastating scene.

“From what our investigation is showing at this point, traffic was slowing down because of road work that was happening a couple of miles down the road. The semi just didn’t slow down and it ran into five additional vehicles, which caused all of the damage,” said Bohner.

Police have identified the driver of the semi as 26-year-old Chasen Thompson of Hamlin, New York. Thompson was arrested for possession of marijuana and taken to the St. Joseph County Jail. He also submitted to a blood draw, which is normal protocol in fatal and serious bodily injury crashes. Results from that blood draw are pending.

The two people that died were in separate vehicles. Five other people were injured. One of the vehicles caught on fire.

“I think the takeaway from this is that you’re going to encounter work zones. We owe it to ourselves and to everybody else to be paying attention. Expect to have some delays. Expect to have maybe a little bit of a different pattern. Just be prepared for anything,” said Bohner.

Officers from the South Bend Police Department were training in the area when the crash happened. They heard the crash happen and rushed to the scene to help.

Indiana State Police were assisted by the South Bend Police Department, St. Joseph County Police Department, Tom’s 24-Hour Towing, Tony’s Mobil, South Bend Fire and EMS, the St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office, and ITRCC Maintenance.