SOUTH BEND — For the second time in a week, the Indiana Toll Road has issued a winter weather ban on certain semi-trucks traveling through the western half of the Hoosier state.

The ban is on triple-tractor-trailers, long-doubles, and high-profile oversize permit loads is in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday.

The ban stretches from the Illinois state line through Mile Marker 96 in St. Joseph County.

With a fatal crash Thursday morning and another toll road winter weather ban in effect, Indiana State Police are reminding drivers that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“The most important thing we ask folks to do is reduce your speed, increase those following distances between you and the car in front of you, and as I’ve mentioned previously, four-wheel drive does not mean ‘four-wheel stop,’” said Sgt. Glen Fifield, with the Indiana State Police. “It doesn’t matter how big your vehicle is; once you start sliding and lose control, you’re basically going for a ride.”

With police spread thin, you could be waiting for a while if you slide off into a ditch.

“Obviously, all crashes and slide-offs are important for us, but we definitely have to take care of the more severe ones first. If you’re not injured and it’s not bad, and the roadway is not blocked, you may wind up sitting for a bit of time, so it goes back to being prepared. Make sure you have blankets, food, and water,” Fifield explained.

If you are in an accident, police say the safest place to be is in your car with your seat belt fastened and to pull off the roadway if possible.

“If you are involved in a crash, stay in your car, get it out of the roadway, pull over to a safe location, then call 911 and report what has happened. Don’t sit in the roadway calling 911. If you’ve been involved in a crash, get out of the roadway, stay in your car, and call 911. That is the best advice I can give,” Fifield said.

Officials with the Indiana Toll Road say they will reevaluate the winter weather ban at 9 p.m. on Friday.

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PORTER COUNTY — A Mishawaka man who had been trapped for six days after crashing his truck in northwest Indiana was found alive by two good Samaritans on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, the Porter County Dispatch Center received a 911 call around 3:45 p.m. CST about a crash on I-94 at the Salt Creek overpass, which is approximately one mile east of the Portage exit. Two local fishermen were reportedly walking along Salt Creek, scouting for fishing holes when they spotted what appeared to be a crashed truck.

Out of curiosity, they made their way to the truck and observed what they thought was a dead person. However, when one of the fishermen touched the driver, who has been identified as 27-year-old Matthew Reum of Mishawaka, he turned his head and began to speak to them, according to Indiana State Police.

“We were getting to the fishing hole, and the truck caught our curiosity,” said Mario Garcia, one of the good Samaritans, during a press conference Tuesday night. “We went up to it and looked inside and moved the airbag and there was a body in there. I went to touch it, and he turned around. It almost killed me because it was so shocking.”

Garcia and Nivardo De La Torre, the other good Samaritan, immediately called 911 and requested help.

Police say it was a lengthy process to free Reum from the truck. According to NBC Chicago, the regular traffic lanes of I-94 were closed for several hours while crews worked to free him.

After Reum was freed, he was flown to Memorial Hospital in South Bend with severe and potentially life-threatening injuries.

“It’s going to take some time to heal,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield. “Our thoughts are with him.”

While Reum was being freed from the truck, police determined the crash more than likely happened six days ago last Wednesday, Dec. 20.

According to police, Reum was traveling westbound on I-94 when his truck left the roadway and drove into a ditch, missing a protective guardrail. The truck then overturned into the creek, coming to a rest under the I-94 bridge — unable to be seen from the roadway.

Reum was pinned inside of the vehicle and was unable to reach his phone to call for help. Had it not been for the two fisherman that were walking the creek on Tuesday afternoon, police say this incident more than likely would have had a different outcome, as there had not been any prior reports of a crash in this area.

“He said to me that he had been there for a long time, and that he had almost lost all hope,” Garcia said. “One more day, and something would have been very different for him.”

Indiana State Police say the will to survive this crash was nothing short of extraordinary. They say Reum was able to drink rain water for hydration in order to survive for such a long period of time while being exposed to the elements.

“It’s a miracle that he’s alive,” Sgt. Fifield said. “We’ve been lucky enough in this Christmas season that our temperatures have been above normal. That was working in this individual’s favor.”

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