Man dies after jumping off I-90 bridge fearing oncoming semi

SUPERIOR (AP) — A Baltimore man who got into a crash on Interstate 90 in western Montana died after jumping off a bridge, apparently in fear that an oncoming semitractor-trailer was going to strike the crashed vehicles, Mineral County officials said.

The initial crash happened before sunup on Monday on a snow-packed bridge in the westbound lanes of the interstate near the town of Superior, Undersheriff Wayne Cashman said Tuesday.

The man got out of his car to check on the other driver, who was uninjured.

He saw a semi approaching and tried to wave down the driver, witnesses said, then apparently feared the semi was going to hit him.

The man jumped off the bridge and fell 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 meters), landing on the edge of the Clark Fork River, where he died, Cashman said.

Investigators believe the man did not know the height of the bridge because he was unfamiliar with the area, Cashman said.

The semi did collide with the crashed vehicles, but by then it was traveling an estimated 6 mph (10 kph) and the person who stayed in the other crashed car was not injured, Cashman said.

The name of the victim has not been released.