Given the massive volume of traffic traveling Interstate 65 in Hardin County around the clock, vehicle accidents are going to occur, and some will prove deadly.  Highlighted here are four collisions involving semi tractor-trailers at mile markers 84, 91, and 100.  Though all four accidents resulted in injuries to some of the drivers involved, only one, as far as we are aware, involved a fatality.

December

Sunday, December 10, 2006, 3:20 a.m. ~ An early-morning traffic accident at the 101 mile marker on I-65 resulted in one fatality.

Kentucky State Police report that a semi tractor-trailer driven by Muradif Hajiric, 44, of Bowling Green, was traveling southbound on I-65.  For an unknown reason, Hajiric veered off the right shoulder and drove down a grassy embankment into a wooded area.  The cab of the truck struck a tree and burst into flames upon impact.  Hajiric was pronounced dead at the scene by Hardin County Deputy Coroner John Clemmons.

Firefighters from Central Hardin, Elizabethtown, Radcliff, Rineyville, Lebanon Junction, and Boston Fire Departments worked to extinguish the fully involved tractor trailer.  Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, Hardin County EMS, and the American Red Cross also assisted at the scene.
 

Sunday, December 3, 2006, 2:12 p.m. ~ A couple from Ontario, Canada, was hospitalized following a traffic collision Sunday afternoon on I-65.

Kentucky State Police report that John Moclair, 82, was driving a Chrysler Pacifica northbound in the right lane.  Rashit Mukhranskiy, 41, of Bowling Green, was driving an Audi A4 in the left lane.  Near the 91 mm, Moclair attempted to change lanes and struck the Audi in the right front fender, causing both drivers to lose control.  The Audi came to a stop in the median.

The Pacifica crossed the median into northbound traffic, striking a tractor-trailer in the left side.  This caused the Pacifica to rotate a half turn so that the rear of the vehicle was struck by the front of a second tractor-trailer.  The Pacifica came to rest off the northbound side of the Interstate.

John Moclair was transported to University of Louisville Hospital by LifeNet.  His passenger, Mary Moclair, 76, was also taken to University of Louisville Hospital, where both were listed in serious condition.  None of the occupants of the other vehicles were injured.  All drivers and passengers involved were wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision.
 

Elizabethtown Fire Rescue, Elizabethtown Police, and Hardin County EMS also assisted at the scene.

October

Monday, October 30, 2006, 10:07 p.m. ~ A 31-year-old Elizabethtown woman was injured after her 1993 Toyota pickup crossed into the path of a 2005 Peterbilt tractor-trailer loaded with steel pipe.

The woman was traveling northbound near the 100 mile marker on I-65 when she veered off the left side of the road and crossed the median into the path of the southbound semi.  The Peterbilt struck the Toyota in the passenger side, after which both vehicles traveled down an embankment off the right side of the southbound lane and came to rest against the trees.  Radcliff Fire Rescue, Central Hardin Fire Department, and Lebanon Junction Fire Department worked to rescue the driver from her vehicle.  She was transported to University of Louisville Hospital by LifeNet with serious injuries.  She was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.

The driver of the Peterbilt was a 58-year-old male from Falls of Rough.  The man, who was wearing a seatbelt, was transported by Hardin County EMS to Hardin Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.  The accident is under investigation by Kentucky State Police.

August

Monday, August 28, 2006, 6:13 p.m. ~ A semi wrecked when the right front tire apparently deflated as the tractor trailer approached the Nolin River Bridge near the 84 mm on I-65.  The cab hit the retaining wall of the bridge and slid down the length of the bridge wall before coming to rest on the southbound shoulder, where it burst into flames.  Glendale, Sonora, and Central Hardin Fire Departments responded to extinguish the fire.  Hardin County Emergency Management, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, and Hardin County EMS were also at the scene.  The driver of the semi was transported to Hardin Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.  The southbound lanes of I-65 were closed for about seven hours while cleanup crews removed the debris; the semi was hauling food products, including instant potatoes that created slippery conditions for firefighters attempting to extinguish the flames.  The semi rekindled just after midnight on August 29, and Glendale and Sonora firefighters returned to extinguish the fire.  Firefighters concluded their work at the site at around 5:30 p.m. on August 29 by assisting with a final washdown of the scene.