LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A semi truck caught fire on Interstate 65 after a crash near the Kennedy Bridge Saturday afternoon.

MetroSafe said one person died in the crash. The crash caused a black cloud over the city near Waterfront Park.

It happened less than an hour after I-65 reopened from a different semi crash in the exact same spot.

"It was bad," said Shine Harrison, who witnessed the crash. "It was black. The dark flames at first, and then it started getting light cloudy."

Video shows the truck on fire and smashed into a guardrail.

"It was bad. It was bad," Harrison said. "My daughter said, 'Mama, it's on the highway.'"

All lanes of I-65 south reopened around 9:30 p.m. It was closed for more than four hours.

"It was unbelievable," Harrison said. "It was really unbelievable."

The wreck happened just before 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The cleanup and investigation halted traffic crossing the Kennedy Bridge from southern Indiana into Louisville.

"This right here is a Nashville ramp, and that is the St. Louis ramp. So I don't know if somebody miss an accident and try to avoid or what not, but it's wet, raining, and people need to not drive crazy," Harrison said.

Earlier Saturday morning a semi crashed into that same spot near the Kennedy Bridge. It overturned and lost its load while heading southbound on I-65, right at mile marker 136.

The interstate closed for about seven hours, reopened for about an hour, before needing to be closed again.

"Just be careful," Harrison said.

Kentucky transportation said Saturday night that the two wrecks separate and unrelated.

Louisville-area crime stories: 

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.