Police: Lake Zurich man among 5 dead in I-65 crash
Editor's note: The name of the Lake Zurich truck driver killed in a crash in Indiana was listed incorrectly. Indiana State Police issued a corrected news release saying the correct name is Ruslan Pankiv.
A Lake Zurich truck driver is among five people killed in a fiery crash near Lafayette, Indiana, police said Friday.
Ruslan Pankiv, 34, was driving a semitrailer truck hauling cooking oil in the right southbound lane of I-65 at 11:55 p.m. Thursday, when he failed to slow for construction, Indiana State Police said in a news release.
Pankiv ran into the rear of a Toyota Yaris, driven by Mikhail Yuryevich Stepanov, 41, of Lafayette. The force of the crash pushed Stepanov's Toyota off the road and into the ditch, killing Stepanov and injuring passenger, Tatiana Yuryevna Stepanova, 31, also of Lafayette.
The truck then ran into the rear of the Honda Pilot and sent it spinning into the median, before the truck slammed into the rear of semitrailer hauling chicken wings, authorities said.
The Toyota, Honda and semitrailer all had reduced speeds because of construction-related traffic on the road, authorities said.
Pankiv died when his truck caught fire after hitting the semitrailer, authorities said.
The Honda Pilot spun into the two semis and also caught fire, authorities said. The fire killed driver Jill Buck, 47, of Elmwood Park, and her two boys, A.J., 8, and Branson, 10.
By the time police and firefighters arrived, Pankiv's truck, the Honda Pilot and the rear of the second semi's trailer were engulfed in flames, authorities said.
The accident remains under investigation, officials said.
The interstate was closed after the accident, authorities said. Northbound lanes of I-65 reopened around 6:30 a.m. and the southbound lanes reopened at 12:30 p.m.
Pankiv's truck - a 2015 Volvo - is owned by TXM Inc. out of South suburban Lockport, officials said.
Police told the Chicago Tribune that Pankiv worked for Illini State Trucking in Hammond, Indiana. When contacted, a human resources employee would not confirm Pankiv was an employee at the company.
However, she read a prepared statement from company official Alan Cernick: "On behalf of Illini State Trucking, its owners and employees, our sympathies and condolences go out to the families of those killed in this tragic accident. We are currently conducting an investigation to get the facts as well. No further comment will be made other than to say our thoughts and prayers are with the families."
The company declined to release Cernick's official job title.