LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man died after crashing head-on into a semi tractor-trailer on Interstate 264 early Tuesday. 

It happened just before 8 a.m. in the westbound lanes of I-264 at Brownsboro Road, according to a news release from Louisville Metro Police. The early investigation indicates that the driver of a red car traveling eastbound "at a high rate of speed lost control and crossed over the median."

The car then collided with the semi that was traveling in the westbound lanes. The impact caused the semi to cross over the median and come to rest on the eastbound shoulder and median. 

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was not injured. 

The crash happened directly across from the construction site for the new VA hospital. 

The St. Matthews Fire Department responded to the scene and helped extricate the driver from the red car. A spokesperson for the department say the red car was driving erratically and clipped a third car before the crash with the semi.

Officials say the car was torn in two by the force of the impact. 

Interstate 264 near Brownsboro Road was shut down in both directions while the LMPD Traffic Unit worked to clear the scene.

The semi was removed a little after 11 a.m. The eastbound lanes completely reopened around noon. The westbound lanes reopened around 1 p.m., according to tweets from LMPD. 

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