DEKALB COUNTY, IN - A driver was taken to the hospital after the car he was driving was hit twice by a semi early Saturday morning on I-69 in DeKalb County.

According to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, the crash happened at 4:40 a. m. just south of Auburn. Reports indicate Ronald Burns, age 67 of Royal Oak, Michigan, was stopped in his Ford Taurus on the right shoulder in the southbound lanes of the interstate. He attempted to merge back onto the highway and pulled into the path of a semi. The semi driver couldn’t slow down enough and hit the back of the Taurus.

The collision caused Burns to hit the guardrail on the right shoulder, and bounce back into the highway and again into the path of the semi, which hit the Taurus again.

Burns had to be extricated from the Taurus. Medics transported him to the hospital with neck pains. His car was totaled as a result of the crash.

The semi suffered front end damage, however the driver was not hurt.

The crash caused a three mile stretch of I-69 to be temporarily shut down.