Fox 23 - Tulsa
July 29, 2009
Tulsa, OK- A man is in critical condition after being hit by a piece of falling concrete while driving down the highway.
Police say driver Trisha Salcedo, 23, of Tulsa, hit a bridge guardrail on 46th St. N. at about 8 a.m. Wednesday.
The impact caused two bolts holding an exit sign over Highway 169 to loosen, consequently loosening the concrete beneath it.
It fell onto the Ford Expedition driven by Floyd Hughes, shattering the windshield and sending him to the hospital.
"It
very well could have been a big chunk and killed a whole family," said
Roy Ramsey, an asphalt hauler who heard about the accident over CB
radio while he was stuck in traffic on the highway. "I drive a truck
here and I was talking to some of the other drivers about it."
But, Ramsey knows about freak accidents. He experienced his own on the roads.
"I've
had a guy on foot commit suicide right in front of me. It killed him on
impact," said Ramsey. "Same scenario as this, I mean it could have
been, anybody that could have hit the bridge."
Police say Salcedo was speeding and the road was slick because of morning rain.
Still, Ramsey thinks the bridge should have withheld the impact of the collision.
"ODOT and all them should have been liable for the bridges not being well maintained and taken care of."
Police
say the driver who hit the guardrail is the only one who'll be held
liable. She's possibly facing charges of speeding and driving with a
suspended license.
The bridge's condition is at or above average, according to Oklahoma Department Of Transportation spokesperson Brenda Perry.
She says ODOT would not be held responsible for the falling concrete because the bridge was hit by a vehicle.
Last
August, a piece of concrete fell from an overpass on Hwy. 169. It hit a
truck that was crossing under it on Pine St. No one was hurt.
In 2004, a woman died when a chunk of concrete from a bridge fell into her car as she drove along I-35 in southern Oklahoma.
Posted on
Wed, July 29, 2009
by Crystal Drwenski