A 60-year-old St. Louis, Missouri truck driver was killed after his rig ran off I-70 between Effingham and the Indiana border early Saturday morning and caught fire.
Claude Watson was pronounced dead on the scene.
State Police say a preliminary investigation indicates that Watson was passing another semi while eastbound on I-70 in Clark County when the driver of the second semi crossed the center line and made contact with the Watson vehicle. Both Watson’s truck and the one driven by 45-year-old Duane Jones of Dayton, Ohio left the right side of the road, crossed a ditch, and traveled through a steel fence into a field. Watson’s truck overturned, landed on the driver’s side, and caught fire. Jones’ truck came to rest upright in the field.
Jones was not injured. He was ticketed for improper lane usage.
