WNDU
\NAPPANEE — One person is dead after Indiana State Police say a tanker crashed and caught on fire in Nappanee on Friday afternoon.
Officers with the Nappanee Police Department were called around 12:55 p.m. to a single-vehicle rollover crash on Tomahawk Trail near ATC Trailers, which is just north of US 6.
Investigators say a straight truck tanker was heading south on Tomahawk when it apparently lost control and ran off the road. As the truck came back onto the roadway, it rolled onto the right side and continued to slide southbound.
As the truck slid, police say it caught on fire and spun around before coming to a rest in the northbound lane of Tomahawk.
The driver of the truck was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials are not identifying the driver until an autopsy is completed.
A manager at Yoder Oil Company, which is based in Nappanee, confirms with WNDU that this is one of their tankers.
“Send your prayers,” the manager told us as the crash investigation remains ongoing.
The Nappanee Fire Department, Bremen Fire Department, and Elkhart Fire Department all helped to get the large fire under control. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) also responded due to the truck’s cargo of flammable material.
