
A truck driver with a suspended license has been arrested for fleeing the scene after his load of construction equipment struck an overpass.
It happened on Friday, October 13th at approximately 10:35 a.m. on Route 6 in Providence, Rhode Island.
According to The Providence Journal, 34-year-old Ulisses Pereira was driving his flatbed tractor trailer hauling construction equipment along Route 6 when he approached the 14’1″ Killingly Steet overpass.
The digging arm of the construction equipment was too tall to pass beneath the bridge, and the construction equipment struck overpass, lodging it beneath the beams and knocking debris from the ceiling, reported WPRI.
Pereira then drove off in the tractor, fleeing the scene and leaving the trailer and load behind.
Breaking: Back hoe hit Killingly Street bridge. Eyewitness told me there was a huge bang and debris fell. Lane restrictions. @wpri12 pic.twitter.com/dAfmKLN2Dq
— Steve Nielsen (@Stevenielsen) October 13, 2017
“We really didn’t know if the truck exploded or what happened until we realized it actually hit the bridge,” said Paul Patenaude, a witness to the crash.
No injuries were reported in the accident.
Two lanes of Route 6 were shut down until approximately 4 p.m. as crews inspected the bridge and released the air from the trailer’s tires to remove it. The bridge was deemed safe and has since been reopened.
Pereira was found and arrested shortly after the incident. He faces charges of failure to stop at an accident resulting in damage, as well as his second count of driving with a suspended license.
He was arraigned in the Sixth Division District Court and has since been released, but will return to custody for his trial. The date of the trial has not yet been released.