A metro Atlanta woman was killed early Thursday when the Toyota minivan in which she was a passenger was hit from behind by a semi-tractor on I-65 in southern Indiana, police said.
Isidra Cornejo Pineda, 33, of Lithonia, was dead at the scene, according to Indiana State Police.
The driver and another passenger, both of whom are from Gwinnett County, were injured, police said. They were taken along with another passenger to the University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky for treatment.
About 4 a.m., the Sienna minivan was traveling north when the driver slowed for a fallen tree that was across all three lanes, police said in a news release.
“A 2015 Mack UPS semi-tractor with dual trailers was traveling behind the van,” police said. “The semi-tractor and dual trailers was unable to slow down and rear-ended the van, pushing it into the median guard rail.”
The semi-tractor driver, Dennis D. Summers of Franklin, Ind., was not injured.
The minivan driver was Norma P. Zepeda-Escobar, 28, of Lilburn. Other passengers were Abisai D. Garcia, 30, of Lilburn, and Julio C. Escobar, 32, from Hyattsville, Md.
The crash, which closed the interstate for more than two hours, came after severe winter weather in the area Wednesday evening and early Thursday, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
“Seatbelt use is unknown at this time,” police said.
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