OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — A dump truck driver is seriously injured after crashing into an overpass on I-10 in Okaloosa County late Thursday night.
It happened around 11:10 p.m. on I-10 west at the Wilkerson Bluff overpass.
Florida Highway Patrol says the driver — a 65-year-old Fort Walton Beach man — “appeared to have suffered a medical event while operating” the dump truck. FHP adds he “failed to lower the dump bed of the truck back down to the ‘driving position’ when he left a nearby construction site. The truck’s dump bed being up caused it to strike the Wilkerson Bluff overpass.”
The truck then exited the roadway to the right and entered a nearby tree line.
FHP states the driver was not wearing his seatbelt during the collision and suffered serious injuries to his face and head as a result.
“Deputies arrived on scene and began administering first aid to the driver who suffered severe injuries,” the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office says.
The driver was then flown to a hospital for treatment.
A pickup truck following behind the dump truck was hit by debris from the overpass caused by the crash. The pickup truck suffered significant damage, but the driver was not injured.
The crash caused significant damage to the bridge. It resulted in westbound Interstate 10 being shut down at Exit 56 until FDOT Inspectors could examine the overpass and deem it safe to drive on and under.
“This event required multiple agencies and road crews working together and the rerouting of traffic to Highway 90 from Interstate 10,” the sheriff’s office says in a release.
The roadways have since reopened.
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