BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A man rushing to help a truck driver whose rig was burning on Interstate 65 vaulted a retaining wall and plunged to his death, apparently not realizing he was atop a bridge.
Authorities said it was the second time almost the exact same thing has occurred on the overpass.
Brent Mitchell, a 42-year-old corporate systems administrator for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, fell more than 60 feet to his death Wednesday night when he vaulted over the highway”s retaining wall.
His widow, Monica Mitchell, said her husband constantly tried to assist people.
“He was always just a genuine helper,” she told The Birmingham News in a story Friday. “If something was wrong, he wanted to fix it.”
The Mitchells and their 11-year-old daughter were stuck in southbound traffic when they saw a truck on fire on the northbound side of the highway about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cahaba River Bridge. Mitchell pulled over and called out to a man near the truck.
“Brent yelled out the window, ”Is the driver OK?” his wife said. “The guy kind of shrugged like he didn”t know.”
Mitchell got out of the car and took off. The northbound and southbound lanes each are lined by safety walls, and there is space between the elevated lanes. Mitchell hopped over a wall expecting to land on the ground, but instead fell 70 feet to his death; police believe because he didn”t realize he was on the bridge in the dark.
Another man died on the bridge in almost the exact same way in the 1980s, and a third man fell off the bridge after an accident but survived, said Rusty Lowe, a spokesman with the Hoover Fire Department.
“It”s a bit of an optical illusion when they”re driving past it. So many people just assume there”s grass there, not realizing they”re high up,” said Lowe.
Mitchell”s body was found under the bridge. Officials later learned the driver of the burning truck, from Ohio, already had walked away safely.
Mitchell, a native of Madison, was a carpenter who joined the corporate world to allow his wife of 13 years to stay home with Chloe, their daughter. He took a job with Blue Cross Blue Shield 10 years ago and was responsible for the company”s work station configuration and overall technical support.
“He just took care of us,” his wife said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
