Posted on 09/08/2002 2:12:44 PM PDT by sinkspur
RICHLAND -- A 19-month-old boy was killed Sunday when a tractor-trailer traveling struck a support column of an overpass on Interstate 45, causing an overpass to collapse on the truck, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
The driver of the truck, Cleaster Broadway, 41, was pinned by debris in the cab of the truck. The driver was communicating with sheriff’s and Department of Public Safety officials, said Lt. Gary Myles. The toddler was a passenger in the truck.
Myles said no other vehicles were involved in the accident, which occurred near the Navarro County town of Richland, about 60 miles south of Dallas.
Cranes were on hand to raise the debris from the pinned truck, but Myles said officials were awaiting a team of engineering advisers to determine the best way to extricate the truck driver.
“We have cranes to raise the bridge, but we may just have to cut him out,” Myles said. “We just don’t know what the plan of attack is going to be. We’re waiting on a team of engineers from Texas A&M to determine the safest means to get this cleared.”
Myles said the truck was traveling northbound when it lost control.
“He skidded off to the right and overcorrected and came back to the left,” Myles said. “He went over an embankment and hit a structure that supports the bridge on the southbound side. The bridge collapsed, closing the southbound lane to traffic.”
The incident happened about 9 a.m. Sunday.
Myles said southbound traffic had been rerouted through the city of Richland and was moving steadily.
That or Cleaster was dozing. These big rigs barreling down the highway at 75 mph are dangerous.
This could impact car travel between Dallas and Houston for months.
That area south of Dallas for many miles has been under construction at various locations for a long time. It has been to down to one lane each direction at times.
This could impact car travel between Dallas and Houston for months.
Heads up, Texas FReepers ! 
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An overpass was brought down on I-30 between Dallas and Texarkana a couple of years back, and the lanes in both directions were shut down and traffic re-routed for three months due to a concern about the integrity of the other columns.
This one may be different.
Guns don't kill on there own,SUV's don't attack people and trucks don't lose control drivers do.
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