A fatal crash shut down traffic heading from the Westbank to the Eastbank early this morning on the Crescent City Connection.
The accident happened on shortly after 4:00am. The roadway was not re-opened until after 7:00am.
According to a statement from New Orleans Police Deparment Public Information Officer Juan Barnes, the incident began with a two car accident near the Camp Street exit. One of the drivers flew out of his vehicle.
"The 48-year-old male driver... was ejected from the vehicle and landed in the roadway. Subsequently, another vehicle... traveling eastbound on U. S.-90B East... struck the ejected driver who was on the roadway. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The resulting investigation closed the expressway at Tchoupitoulas Street.
The closure snarled the morning commute into New Orleans, backing up traffic all the way across the Crescent City Connection as four lanes of traffic pressed into the single lane of the Tchouplitoulas Street exit ramp.
Police initially thought the man had stepped out of his vehicle and was struck but later learned he had been ejected before being run over.