911 calls from fiery semi crash on I-65 South in downtown Louisville reveal chaos drivers witnessed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Recordings of 911 calls from the moments a semi crashed on Interstate 65 South near downtown Louisville, caught fire, and fell over the interstate give an idea of the chaos drivers witnessed Friday morning.

It happened at the Jefferson Street ramp around 10:15 a.m., and had a massive impact on traffic for hours.

Caller: "There's a semi that blew up on the highway. It fell off the bridge, it's gone off the bridge."

Dispatcher: "OK, 65 South?"

Caller: "Yes, 65 South, yes."

Dispatcher: "OK is it on the bridge or is it once you got over the bridge?"

Caller: "Once you got over the bridge, it's right there. Oh my God, and it's on fire. OK, oh, wow, wow."

Another interaction painted just as much shock at what the caller was witnessing.

"I was on the 65, on the ramp from 65 South to (Interstate) 64 West and there was a semi that literally fell from the ramp that was above me," the caller said.

"I saw a truck, heard a loud noise behind me and I saw the truck ran off, hit the concrete and his truck kind of folded and he actually, I just wanted to report that. He actually went off the expressway, into I guess you call it the median," said another.

"Like something on the lower road way that's burning or something that is grassy that is burning? I can't say, I'm in a high-rise office building across from it and can just tell there's a fire on the upper level where the semi is, and then there's also a fire on the lower roadway."

"And there is a guy trapped inside of it right now. There is no way for him to get out. Like it is engulfed in flames."

Calls also show someone was with the driver when they were talking to dispatch.

"There's nothing left of it. It's just burnt up," the person said.

"OK, is the driver out of the car?" dispatch asks. "Yes I got him right here, and he needs an ambulance."

Jeffery Walker was the driver of that semitruck. He broke his right ankle and sustained other injuries when he jumped from the cab.

Friday morning's crash was the latest in an uptick in collisions at that section of what is called the "Spaghetti Junction" interchange.

Walker said he was driving the speed limit and not changing lanes when he crashed.

"I really don't know how it happened," he said in an interview while still hospitalized, although he noted that the road surface was wet.

State data shows six of the eight collisions near the split since the start of 2024 occurred in "wet" conditions. The road's slippery surface is listed as a factors in half of these wrecks.

‘I don’t want to burn’ | How semi-truck driver escaped a fiery crash on I-65 in Louisville

Fiery semi crash on I-65 in Louisville reignites safety concerns for accident hotspot

Driver escapes before semi crashes, falls in flames from I-65 in downtown Louisville