by Kim Bell for stltoday.com
EAST ST. LOUIS — A man was killed early Friday when the vehicle he was driving flipped over the barrier on an approach ramp to the Poplar Street Bridge and landed upside down on railroad tracks below, authorities said.
The crash was reported about 4:45 a.m. near South Sixth Street and Trendley Avenue in East St. Louis. An officer who was the first to reach the vehicle found the man dead inside the wreckage.
Illinois State Police have not identified the man, who was the only occupant.
State police said the vehicle was traveling north on Illinois Route 3 and merging onto Interstate 64 westbound/Interstate 55 southbound. It hit the concrete barrier on the right side, flipped over the wall and plunged about 50 feet to the ground.
The ramp was closed briefly but has since reopened.
In 2019, a motorcyclist died after crashing near the same area. The body of the 32-year-old man was found on pavement below the ramp from northbound Illinois Route 3 to the Poplar Street Bridge. He apparently had lost control of the motorcycle and hit the concrete median on the ramp, then was struck by passing vehicles.
That same summer, a burglary suspect fleeing Cahokia police died after losing control of his vehicle along the ramp onto the same bridge. The suspect was headed from Route 3 onto the bridge when he hit a barrier, lost control and his car flipped over the barrier.