One dead, two injured in I-70 Friday morning crash

A Delaware woman was killed and two others injured in a car – tractor trailer accident on I-70 Friday morning.

The Indiana State Police are investigating a fatal crash that happened on Interstate 70 westbound.

The preliminary investigation indicated that traffic was slow / stopped in the area due to an earlier accident on Interstate 70 at the 30 mile marker westbound. Traffic was reduced to one lane.

About 10:30 a.m., a 2023 Freightliner semi tractor-trailer driven by Bhagwant Singh, 49, of Indianapolis, was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 in the passing lane near the 35 mile marker. The hazard lights of the semi were activated because of the slow / stopped traffic. Singh was stopped when he felt an impact in the rear of his semi. A 2016 Nissan pickup truck was traveling behind the semi and failed to observe the traffic, running into the rear of Singh’s semi-tractor trailer.

The driver of the pickup truck, Norma Rivera, 54, of New Castle, Delaware, died from her injuries at the scene of the accident. Two passengers in the pickup truck, an adult male and a child, were transported via air ambulance to hospitals in Indianapolis, with non-life threatening injuries.

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a contributing factor of the accident.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Putnam County Emergency Medical Service, Cloverdale Fire Department, Putnam County Coroner's Office and Curtis Wrecker Service assisted at the scene.