A dump truck fell from the elevated eastbound Interstate 10 in New Orleans onto Claiborne Avenue on Thursday afternoon, October 22, injuring its driver and a passenger, who were both taken to hospital in stable condition, the New Orleans Police Department said, as reported by WDSU.
Source: WDSU via News Beep
Police Capt. Kendrick Allen said officers were dispatched to the intersection of Claiborne and St. Bernard avenues at about 2:30 p.m. and found the overturned truck spilling construction materials and fuel onto the roadway, according to WDSU's reporting. Allen said the driver swerved to avoid another accident on the overpass, which carried the truck through the barrier and over the edge, and that the driver was unlikely to receive citations.
The two right lanes of I-10 East were blocked, with only the left lane open, and Claiborne Avenue at Columbus Street and I-10 Eastbound at Esplanade were closed until further notice. Drivers heading to Slidell or New Orleans East were advised to use I-10 to West End and then Interstate 610.
The truck landed on its side and crushed the hood of a parked car, Allen said. Nobody was inside the parked car. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development engineers were on scene inspecting the bridge and securing the hole left in the barrier before the interstate could reopen, police said.
A witness, Sonja Lady Dedais, who was travelling across the bridge with a friend and sent photographs to the WDSU newsroom, described watching the truck go through the railing and over the edge. Mayor Helena Moreno said in a statement: "This was an incredibly serious accident and I'm incredibly grateful that no lives were lost," and thanked first responders, medical professionals and cleanup crews.
Source: NOLA.com