Cloverdale (Putnam County) – Just before 5:30 pm Tuesday evening, a call was made to the Indiana State Police at the Putnamville Post advising of a serious crash, on westbound Interstate 70 (I70) at the 40 mile marker. The crash involved a semi tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle.

Trooper Jonathan Cumbie began an investigation that revealed the passenger car, a 2000 Maroon Pontiac, was attempting to merge onto I-70 from the 41 mile marker westbound on-ramp. As the vehicle moved too fast for road conditions into traffic, the driver lost control and spun in the roadway. The semi, a 2012 White International, attempted to slow, but did not have the space needed. The semi struck the vehicle on the driver side, in a T-bone fashion, sending the passenger car into the median. While trying to utilize the brakes on the roadway, which was at this time snowy and icy, the semi also lost control and crashed into a guardrail on the north side of the road.

I-70 was completely shut down for approximately 15 minutes. Westbound I70 was restricted to one lane thereafter for approximately the next 3 hours while investigators completed their work.

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in this crash.

Deceased; Driver 1 (Passenger car): Tiffany Ann Mikel, 36 of Bedford IN. Family has been notified.

Driver 2 (Semi driver): Efren Barragan-Sanchez, 41 of Mexico. Barragan suffered no injuries.

Assisting agencies included the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Cloverdale Police Department, along with Cloverdale Fire and Operation Life Medics.