The accidents happened about 7 a.m. Saturday morning on I-65 in Jasper County near the town of Demotte, about 65 miles southeast of Chicago, and left cars, SUVs and semis scattered across the expressway.
The largest of the three crashes took place in the northbound lanes and involved 13 vehicles.
Six people were hurt. There was also a six-vehicle pileup in the southbound lanes and a minor, two car crash.
Indiana State Police say all this happened as a hay fire burned in a field not far from the expressway.
"The crash was the direct result of heavy smoke and some fog that had covered the interstate reducing visibility to less than 30 feet," said Sgt. Dan Leslie.
Police tried to divert traffic off of I-65, but there was a large backup because all lanes were closed for several hours after the crash.
Investigators have not released the name of the person killed.
