BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 60-year-old man died Friday afternoon following a crash on Alligator Alley, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened in the westbound lanes just after 1 p.m., near mile marker 47 in far western Broward County.
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Casey Cane, a Fire Commissioner at Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, told Local 10 News in a statement Friday that the man was traveling westbound when he drove through the median, hit the bridge guardrail, and collided with the side of the eastbound bridge wall.
His vehicle then fell to a rest beneath the bridge roughly 30 feet below the overpass, according to Cane.
Cane said he and an officer from the Immokalee Police Department broke through the windows and pried open the driver’s side door, removed the driver’s seatbelt and began administering CPR for about 15 minutes, while another officer called the incident to 911 dispatchers.
Cane said during treatment, authorities deployed an emergency AED where the driver was connected during their attempt to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful in locating a pulse.
Medics took the driver, who was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, to Broward Health Medical Center, officials said.
FHP officials later confirmed that the driver died.
Traffic was shut down in both directions as rescue crews airlifted the patient.
Authorities have not confirmed the driver’s identity as of Friday evening.