Driver injured but escapes flames in fiery Putnam County crash

Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:47 AM

By Staff report

A driver involved in a fiery crash was able to get out of the vehicle before flames consumed it.

Just after 5 a.m.Thursday morning, the Reelsville / Washington Township VFD was dispatched to a vehicle accident with possible entrapment and fire on US 40 just east of Manhattan Road. On the arrival of Engine 52, it was determined that the truck was fully engulfed and it was unknown if anyone was inside. Mutual aid was requested from Greencastle and Cloverdale Township.

As suppression efforts began, the driver was located in the back of another vehicle from someone that had assisted him out of the truck before responders arrived. The cause of the accident appears to be a medical emergency suffered by the driver. The patient was taken by ambulance to a Terre Haute hospital and the fire was extinguished.

The accident and fire resulted in eastbound US 40 being closed so that the fire could be extinguished and the vehicle removed. Once the vehicle was removed the roadway was opened and units were in service just before 7 a.m.

Also assisting on scene were Putnam County EMS, Putnam County Sheriff's Department, ISP, and Curtis Towing.