Driver Who Survived Plunge Off Milwaukee Interchange Cited

Wauwatosa WI

19 February, 2021

10:58 AM

Description

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, WI—A driver who survived his truck falling 70 feet off an icy interchange has been cited. The driver, Richard Lee Oliver of Waukesha County, was reportedly driving 77 mph in a 55 mph zone when the crash happened, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Oliver was also driving with a revoked license, according to the report. Police issued three citations related to the crash: Operating while revoked (forfeiture)Unreasonable and imprudent speed (77 mph)Failure to keep vehicle under controlOliver, in an interview that aired on Feb.11 on ABC's "Good Morning America," said he was on his way to his mother's house when his truck hit snow on the shoulder of a Milwaukee-area overpass. "There was just too much snow on the side of the road that once the tires got into like two foot of snow there's no controlling a vehicle of any kind," said Oliver, who was hospitalized with a broken back and a broken leg, among other injuries. A Wisconsin Department of Transportation camera captured the Feb. 6 crash in which the pickup can be seen flipping over the a barrier wall and plummeting to the interstate below as cars pass by. The truck landed upright on the right shoulder of the westbound lanes of Interstate 94. Oliver, the father of a 6-month-old, said he is grateful to the two people who came to his aid, including a man who helped him make a phone call. "He helped me in the bed of my truck and helped me call my mom just in case I wasn't going to make it," he said. Writing and reporting from the Associated Press was used for this report.