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Indiana man killed in crash involving 2 semis on I-75 in Butler County

BUTLER COUNTY — A southern Indiana man was killed in a crash involving two semitrailers that shut down all northbound lanes of I-75 in northern Butler County for hours Tuesday, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

>>PHOTOS: Driver killed after 2 semis crash on I-75 in northern Butler County

James Barnett III, 43, of Sellersburg, Indiana was identified as the driver killed in the crash around 9 a.m. on northbound I-75 between state Routes 129 and 63 near Monroe in Butler County, state troopers said in a media release. Barnett’s age and hometown were not provided by state troopers.

Barnett was the driver of a semi hauling a trailer with steel coils, traveling north on I-75 in one of the middle lanes, state troopers said. Another semitrailer, driven by Faustin Muhire, 27, of Forest Hills, Texas was traveling ahead of Barnett’s semi in the same lane. Muhire slowed down for an unknown reason, which caused Barnett to try and avoid the slowing semitrailer, state trooper said.

Barnett’s semi crashed into the back of Muhire’s semi, causing Barnett’s cab and trailer to overturn and crash into the concrete median dividing the highway. Barnett was thrown from his truck during the crash and pronounced dead on the scene, state troopers said.

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State troopers have both shut down the northbound lanes and routed traffic around it since the crash Tuesday morning. As of 3:45 p.m., the left two lanes are closed northbound while the right two have been reopened. On southbound I-75, the left two lanes also remain blocked due to the crash cleanup.

Additional details were not available. We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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