One person was killed and at least three people were injured when a section of a bridge above Interstate 35 collapsed after it was struck by a too-tall 18-wheeler in Texas, according to public safety officials and news reports.
The deadly crash occurred in Salado, about 60 miles north of Austin on I-35. TV station KVUE reports that an oversized tractor trailer struck a beam of the overpass bridge that was under construction on I-35, causing several beams to fall onto the roadway below.
“The truck driver ignored signs that we had that would have indicated that the truck was too tall,” a Texas Department of Transportation official told the Austin American-Statesman. It's not clear whether the victims were drivers or construction personnel, but officials said two tractor trailers and two pickup trucks were involved in the collapse.
Update: From TV station KXAN:
Authorities said a piece of equipment on a flatbed trailer heading north struck the bridge and caused two beams to fall onto the roadway, trapping vehicles below. Two other semis and two pickup trucks were caught up in the crash. A man driving one of the pickup trucks, 32-year-old Clark Davis of Arlington, was killed in the crash.
Top photo Bell County Sheriff's Office