Crashes snarl afternoon traffic on Interstate 65

Interstate 65 was a mess yesterday afternoon between Columbus and Seymour after a pair of accidents closed both the northbound and southbound lanes. And police say one of the crashes appears to have happened intentionally.

Sgt. Stephen Wheeles with the Indiana State Police says that the first accident was at about 1 in the southbound lanes in southern Bartholomew County. An SUV flipped over into the middle of the intestate, blocking all southbound lanes for about an hour. No one was injured.

The second crash was north of Seymour on the northbound lanes minutes later where an RV crashed into concrete barrier in the median and then burned down to the frame. Wheeles said that investigators received information that the crash was intentional. The driver, 37-year-old Clarence Hampton, of Orlando, Florida was seriously injured. He was first taken to Schneck Medical Center and then flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. Two passengers in the RV were uninjured.

Wheeles said the northbound lanes were shut down for about three hours during the crash cleanup and investigation.