Ohio Road Signs Smash Into Cars; State Seeks Cause

June 28, 2013

The Ohio Department of Transportation is investigating how three signs posted above a Cleveland-area highway smashed into traffic during stormy weather, damaging three vehicles and leaving a man in critical condition.

The Interstate 480 signs that fell Tuesday near Valley View were at least 10 feet tall and weighed hundreds of pounds.

Police say one sign crashed onto a pickup truck, critically hurting the driver. Traveler Traci Earhart says she believes the same sign had dropped near her vehicle a moment earlier, slicing off her license plate before ricocheting into other traffic.

An ODOT spokeswoman tells The Plain Dealer the signs were rated for winds up to 90 mph, well above the area’s strongest gusts Tuesday.

She says investigators are looking at metal clips that hold the signs.

Topics Ohio

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