INDIANAPOLIS — Two people died in separate crashes early Sunday morning on Interstate 74 on the southeast side of Indianapolis.
Indiana State Police said a pedestrian was struck and killed a short time after dispatchers received calls at 12:45 a.m. reporting a vehicle in the ditch on I-74 eastbound at the 95 mile marker. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Marion County Chief Deputy Coroner Alfie McGinty identified the man as 40-year-old Shawn Davis.
Investigators believe the man was the driver of the vehicle that was found in the ditch and that impairment could be a factor in the crash.
State police said the driver of the vehicle that struck the pedestrian remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. Eastbound I-74 was closed for four hours while the crash was investigated.
Nearly two hours after the first crash, a second fatal crash happened less than a half-mile away at the 94.6 mile marker of I-74 westbound.
State police said the driver of an eastbound semi-tractor trailer was doing a U-turn through the crossover due to the interstate closure from the earlier crash when a motorist in a westbound passenger vehicle collided with the semi as it entered the westbound lanes.
The driver of the passenger vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.
A 36-year-old woman was killed in the crash, McGinty said. The office is still working to positively identify the woman.
The westbound lanes of I-74 near Post Road reopened just after 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Both crashes are still under investigation.
I-74 MM 96.2 WB at Post Rd / mile 96 All lanes closed 4 hours due to a crash
— INDOT TrafficWise (@TrafficWise) May 24, 2020