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Driver that crashed van on freeway bridge arrested for DUI – Fox 13 Now

Police say the man who crashed his van on a freeway overpass that left the vehicle precariously hanging over the edge, was arrested for DUI.

Police say Kevin Andersen, 59, of South Jordan, drove his van up over the embankment landing on gas and water pipes running parallel to the 1300 South overpass bridge in Murray Wednesday night. Police say it was a small miracle that kept the car from toppling over the edge onto interstate traffic below. They say the driver was allegedly drowsy and under the influence and had prescription drugs and spice in his vehicle.

“[The driver] hit the jersey barrier which catapulted him up to the fence and onto waterlines that straddle I-215. They’re actually attached to the overpass and are supported by twin I-beams. He skidded along those waterlines for several hundred feet before he came to a rest right over I-215,” said Cottonwood Heights Police officer Mark Askerlund.

Askerlund says firefighters tethered with climbing gear had to build a gangplank to get to Andersen and get him out of the vehicle safely.

Askkerlund says the accident could have been more disastrous had the gas and water pipes ruptured in the accident.

“Hard to say if it would have ended up as a fatality but certainly it could have caused much chaos below in addition to that part of the top rail of the fence went right through the front windshield and exited the back so he’s very fortunate he wasn’t impaled with that top rail of the fence.”

Police say that the driver threw a bottle of alcohol out his vehicle after he was stuck on the overpass pipes.

“A bottle being thrown from an overpass could easily go through the windshield of a car,” said Askerlund.

No one was hurt including Andersen.

Police sent blood tests taken from Andersen to see what substances may have been present during the accident.

Westbound I-215 was closed for several hours while rescue crews moved Andersen’s vehicle onto the road.

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