A driver survived after his pickup careened off an interstate ramp near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, over the weekend, crashing to the ground below.
Video footage from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation showed the red vehicle ramming into a snowbank Saturday, then flying over a barrier wall, WCSC reported Monday.
The truck appeared to flip over once, then land backward on the pavement below.
According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle fell 70 feet onto westbound Interstate 94.
“When deputies arrived, they found the red pickup upright in the right distress lane of the westbound I-94 lanes. Two citizens were on the scene providing aid to the lone occupant,” the sheriff’s office said in a series of tweets.
“The driver was conscious and breathing and did not show signs of impairment,” the department continued, adding that the driver apparently lost control of his vehicle.
Crews with the Milwaukee Fire Department then transported the man to a local hospital.
In an update at 2:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said all lanes and ramps had reopened to traffic.
County officials work as fast as possible to remove snow from distress lanes so as to avoid crashes, according to WISN.
“The biggest risk with that is the melting and the freezing creates sort of a ramp, a natural ramp,” Milwaukee County’s Director of Highways and Maintenance Eddie Santiago told the outlet.
Snowplows remove the snow from bridges and overpasses because it is so dangerous.
“One of the ways they do that is with three giant snow blowers the county has. The county prioritizes snow removal by the height of the road above the ground,” the report said, adding that crews work in shifts around the clock.
Workers also use front-end loaders to haul it away.
“The snow is hard as concrete so a lot of our equipment is out there, basically chipping away at the, literally chipping away at the snow and ice to get that removed,” Santiago explained.
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