The Cathedral Road overpass in Detroit, Michigan, collapsed into the Southfield Freeway Friday morning after a truck driver hit the pedestrian bridge, dying in the crash.
The incident took place at 6 a.m., and has resulted in both directions of the freeway where the bridge fell onto the road being closed, according to The Detroit Free Press. The driver was initially reported by authorities to have suffered minor injuries, but Michigan State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Shaw later confirmed the driver's death.
The truck driver was reported to be working for a waste disposal company, and the name Romulus-based company TLC Waste Disposal Services was listed on the truck. Additional information about the driver has yet to be revealed.
Michigan state police added that the truck driver was not wearing a seatbelt, WXYZ reported. The driver was taken away from the scene on a stretcher, and was later pronounced dead at Sinai-Grace hospital.
Diane Cross, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said the bridge was old, and that it is too soon to determine if its age played a role in its collapse, CBS Local reported. Commuters experienced heavy traffic due to the incident.
"It was pretty wild, you're like half asleep, it's 5 a.m. you're thinking 'Am I seeing what I'm seeing?" said one witness.
Some vehicles were also affected by the collapse, such as Gary Kleinart from Novi, who said that a piece of the debris hit his car.
"I was just driving south on ... Southfield, and all of a sudden it just came down right in front of me ... it hit my car," Kleinart said. "The whole top is smashed in and the back window is all blown out."
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was also present in the backup, and was later picked up by a member of the team's security, CBS Local reported. The football star discussed the situation later on in the day after practice.
"Obviously you don't expect to see a bridge down, you know, on the highway," Stafford said. "But I was just mostly worried about trying to get her as fast as I could; and, obviously, the health of the driver."
The crash is the second time that an employee of TLC Waste Disposal Services has died this month, the first being 51-year-old Calvin Goree, who got electrocuted on Sept. 3rd in Clinton Township when a part of his truck hit a power line while he was dumping scrap metal, The Detroit Free Press reported.
Police are advising drivers to stay away from the collapse scene, and they plan on reopening the road later in the day.
