A car went off Interstate 65 South Wednesday afternoon and landed upside down in a construction zone in downtown Louisville, injuring the driver. Emergency officials responded after the vehicle left the interstate and came down in the streets below near 1st and Chestnut streets.
According to wdrbwave.com, MetroSafe said the crash was reported at 1:43 p.m. near 1st and Chestnut streets, with at least one person injured. WLKY reports that the driver had been traveling on I-65 South, according to MetroSafe, before going off the road and landing upside down near the intersection.
Police told WLKY the driver was taken to UofL Hospital and was reported alert during transport. Construction workers reportedly pulled the driver from the construction area where the vehicle came to rest, per the station's report.
Crash Site Sits in Unfinished Exit Ramp
The crash site has been described as an unfinished exit ramp surrounded by police in downtown Louisville. It was not immediately clear how the crash happened, the same account notes, and the cause remained unclear as of Wednesday afternoon.
A TRIMARC camera captured footage showing ongoing construction near the unfinished ramp, per the earlier account. WLKY said it planned to gather more details at the scene and update the story as information becomes available.
Downtown Construction Has Reshaped I-65 for Years
The crash site sits within the footprint of the I-65 Central Corridor project, which involves replacing or rehabilitating six downtown bridges, including the one at Chestnut Street, according to the I-65 Central Corridor project website. That work is expected to continue until late 2028. The project website notes that I-65 remains open to two lanes in each direction as construction continues, part of a five-mile construction zone stretching from the Watterson Expressway to Jefferson Street downtown, according to an August project handout.
Crews accelerated progress during a two-month closure of I-65 in June and July, the project site says. An October report from wdrbwave.com noted that Chestnut Street under I-65 was scheduled to close until late November as bridge work continued in the area.
Wednesday's crash is not the first time a vehicle has left the elevated highway in downtown Louisville. In June 2025, a semi crashed and fell from I-65 in Hospital Curve, according to a report from wdrb.com, though that incident involved different circumstances and a different stretch of road.
