A garbage truck driver was killed Wednesday evening in Fort Worth after the truck struck support pillars under an overpass on U.S. Highway 287, closing the freeway in both directions overnight and into Thursday.
Fort Worth police responded about 6 p.m. to the 3500 block of Martin Luther King Freeway, the local name for that stretch of U.S. 287. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the truck was exiting the highway when it hit several supporting pillars of the bridge over Erath Street. The driver was thrown from the truck and died at the scene. A passenger was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
NBC 5 reported that two men were in the truck and that police confirmed the driver died of his injuries. WFAA said Fort Worth officers from the East Division handled the call and that police asked drivers to use other routes until crews could determine the overpass was structurally sound.
The crash happened underneath the highway, so the damage was to the supports holding up U.S. 287 over Erath Street. That forced a full closure of the main lanes. The Texas Department of Transportation said northbound traffic was being sent off at the Wilbarger Street exit and southbound traffic at Berry Street and Vaughn Boulevard. An earlier TxDOT Fort Worth post said the highway was closed at Berry and Wilbarger and that alternate routes were advised.
By early Thursday, TxDOT Fort Worth said the emergency closures at U.S. 287 and Erath Street were expected to remain in place through Thursday, Sept. 24. Officials have not released the names of the driver or passenger, and they have not said what caused the truck to leave the roadway and strike the pillars.
U.S. 287 through southeast Fort Worth is a major route for traffic moving between downtown, Loop 820, and communities to the south and east. The overnight and Thursday shutdown is expected to slow morning commutes. Drivers heading through that corridor should allow extra time and follow posted detours.
The Fort Worth Police Department is investigating the crash. No additional details about the truck company or the condition of the passenger had been released as of early Thursday.
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