Published: October 06, 2009 11:48 pm         

Two vehicles destroyed when semitrailer burns

TERRE HAUTE — No one was injured, but two vehicles were destroyed and two others damaged when an auto transport trailer caught fire Tuesday morning on Interstate 70.

Trooper Mike Laney of Indiana State Police reported that a bearing burned up in the wheel of the semitrailer, an auto hauler, catching the rig on fire. The fire spread to destroy two sport utility vehicles and damage two others. The trailer also sustained heavy damage.

“It was a really awkward situation,” Laney said of cleaning up the scene. “The trailer was burned so badly the aluminum plates melted.”

The incident happened about 9:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes near the 14-mile marker and the Clay-Vigo county lines. The highway was closed for about two hours.

The semitrailer, which was carrying three other vehicles, was disconnected from the trailer and was able to continue on to Indianapolis. The auto hauler was en route from Oklahoma.

Laney said the driver was uninjured. The cause of the fire has been listed as mechanical error.