Local Driver Falls From Ben White Overpass

Around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday evening, an event police are calling a "freak accident" took the life of a driver who fell from the Ben White overpass above I-35. (map)

The man, whose name has not been released, was driving a Ford pickup truck when he suffered a collision with an 18-wheeler at the fly-over intersection of the highways. His car was so badly damaged by the incident, he was unable to evacuate his vehicle on the driver's side. Austin Police Sgt. Anthony Norris reported that a witness on the scene urged the driver to exit his car on the passenger side, saying, "Unfortunately, there was nowhere to go except straight off the overpass approximately 35 to 40 feet down [and] he hit the concrete."

The driver suffered a head injury and was rushed to UMC-Brackenridge, where he later died. KEYE reports that the police will not consider the accident a traffic-related fatality.

Unfortunately, this is not the first fatality to occur at the Ben White and I-35 overpass intersection. On March 6, a motorcyclist sped into the retaining wall and was thrown from his motorcycle.