Photo: Metro Nashville PD
A man was killed while driving on I-24 in Tennessee, when a concrete slab most likely thrown from an overpass smashed through his car and hit him in the head, Metro Nashville PD says in a statement.
As of the time of writing, police have no clues as to who may have thrown the piece of concrete from the bridge. While they’re looking through surveillance footage from all local cameras, they’re reaching out to the public for help with tracking down the culprit. They’re also making public the details of the accident.
Joe C. Shelton Jr., 54, of Pleasant View, Tennessee, was on his way to work at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, in his Nissan GT-R. The piece of concrete smashed through the windshield and hit him in the head. He was killed instantly.
“At this point in the investigation, it appears likely that the chunk of concrete was thrown from the Shelby Avenue Bridge. TDOT bridge inspectors determined that the concrete was not a part of the bridge structure, but more closely resembled a roadway curb,” the police say.
After the car was hit, it “sideswiped a Toyota pickup truck and a guardrail before coming to final rest on I-24’s Silliman Evans Bridge.”
Shelton’s death is being investigated as a homicide and police urge anyone with information to come forward – and qualify for a cash reward.
A similar incident occurred in Michigan earlier this year, when 5 teenagers thought it would be fun to throw rocks from an overpass into oncoming traffic below (some of the rocks were as heavy as 20 pounds). One of them went through the windshield of a van, hitting the driver in the head and chest. He would die later in the hospital from blunt force trauma.
All teens were initially charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder (among other, lesser charges), but 4 of them pleaded guilty to manslaughter and agreed to testify against the fifth, who was also the one who actually threw the deadly projectile.
Joe C. Shelton Jr., 54, of Pleasant View, Tennessee, was on his way to work at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, in his Nissan GT-R. The piece of concrete smashed through the windshield and hit him in the head. He was killed instantly.
“At this point in the investigation, it appears likely that the chunk of concrete was thrown from the Shelby Avenue Bridge. TDOT bridge inspectors determined that the concrete was not a part of the bridge structure, but more closely resembled a roadway curb,” the police say.
After the car was hit, it “sideswiped a Toyota pickup truck and a guardrail before coming to final rest on I-24’s Silliman Evans Bridge.”
Shelton’s death is being investigated as a homicide and police urge anyone with information to come forward – and qualify for a cash reward.
A similar incident occurred in Michigan earlier this year, when 5 teenagers thought it would be fun to throw rocks from an overpass into oncoming traffic below (some of the rocks were as heavy as 20 pounds). One of them went through the windshield of a van, hitting the driver in the head and chest. He would die later in the hospital from blunt force trauma.
All teens were initially charged with second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder (among other, lesser charges), but 4 of them pleaded guilty to manslaughter and agreed to testify against the fifth, who was also the one who actually threw the deadly projectile.
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