Oklahoma man dead in I-70 crash near Plainfield

An Oklahoma man died after this accident on I-70 near Plainfield Thursday afternoon.

PLAINFIELD -- A two-vehicle accident on I-70 resulted in the death of an Oklahoma man Thursday afternoon at 4:50 p.m.

Indiana State Police learned that Richard Lee Bollinger, 53, of Missouri, was driving a 2004 Freightliner westbound on I-70 near the 66.4 mile marker in the middle of three lanes. Traffic in all three lanes was moving slowly due to traffic being merged to one lane approximately two miles west in a construction zone.

A witness that was following the victim's car, a 2010 Chevrolet pickup truck, stated the vehicle was traveling approximately 60 mph. The driver did brake to attempt an evasive action and ran into the rear of the box trailer. The trailer was loaded with 40,000 pounds of sugar and the load was not compromised.

The driver of the pickup truck, a male from Oklahoma, was pronounced dead at the scene by Hendricks County Coroner Joe Neuman. His identity will not be released until notification has been made to the family.

The driver and co-driver in the semi tractor were not injured.

Detective Wayne Billings, Master Trooper Dave Furnas, Senior Trooper Kurt Steinkamp, Trooper John Myers and Senior Trooper Chris Kath of the Indiana State Police investigated the accident. Assisting them were the Plainfield Fire Department, Plainfield Police Department, Hendricks County Coroner's Office, Indiana Department of Transportation and Curtis Wrecker Service.