Greencastle man killed in I-70 snowplow accident

MONROVIA -- A 59-year-old Greencastle man was killed in a two-vehicle crash along Interstate 70 Friday morning near the 59-mile marker.

Emergency crews received the call just after 6 a.m. of a serious accident eastbound on I-70, near the Monrovia/Belleville exit.

Upon arrival, first responders located a male driver inside a black 2006 Saturn. The victim was unconscious and not breathing, and despite lifesaving efforts, Robert Lange was pronounced dead at the scene, Indiana State Police reported.

Lange was reportedly en route to his job as an Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) teacher when the fatal accident occurred.

IPS confirmed that Lange was a school teacher for the district.

"Certainly, our thoughts are with his family at this time," IPS spokesman Carrie Cline Black said Friday afternoon in a statement for the school corporation.

Investigating officers believe an Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) plow truck incurred mechanical problems and had pulled off the right side of the roadway onto the shoulder.

The 2017 Freightliner was all the way off the roadway and had its emergency yellow flashing lights activated, authorities said.

It appears Lange's Saturn spun out of control as the car approached the area and struck the rear end of the plow truck with its driver's side.

The driver of the INDOT truck was not injured.

All eastbound lanes were closed for more than three hours while the crash was investigated and the wreckage was removed.