Rollover crash on US 35 caused extended highway closure on Sept. 25, 2025

Last Updated on September 28, 2025 by Cass County Communication Network

On Thursday, September 25, 2025, at approximately 1:06 p.m., Cass County Central Dispatch received a call reporting a single-vehicle crash on US 35 south of US 24 at the Dunkirk Exchange. Deputy Jonathan Ousley responded to the scene along with several other Cass County Deputies, Cass County Emergency Medical Services, Cass County Emergency Management, Indiana State Police, Royal Center Police Department, Logansport Police Department, Cass County Fire District #1, Logansport Fire, Cass County Highway Department, Indiana Department of Transportation, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management. An initial scene assessment found that a semi-tractor and trailer had rolled over at the ramp, blocking all lanes of US 35 just south of US 24.

Preliminary investigation by Deputy Jonathan Ousley found 58-year-old Roberto Jimenez Peralta of Wolcott, Indiana, was driving a 2004 Freightliner semi-tractor with a 1997 cargo tanker on the eastbound US 24 ramp to southbound US 35. The semi-tractor and trailer tipped onto its side while exiting the ramp onto southbound US 35. The cargo tanker leaked most of its liquid cargo. The tanker was filled with 5,000 gallons of liquid manure. The leak covered three of the four lanes of US 35. A private contractor assisted at the scene to remove the manure from the roadway.

The semi driver had to be extricated from the cab. He was flown to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne with serious injuries.

Alcohol is not considered a factor in this crash.

US 35 was closed for about eight and a half hours for crash cleanup.

The crash is still being investigated by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 574-753-7800.

SOURCE: News release from Cass County Sheriff’s Office