Driver seriously hurt after SEMI truck hits I-55 overpass pier south of Matthews

NEW MADRID COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) - One man was seriously hurt after the SEMI truck he was driving hit a bridge pier on Interstate 55 early Monday morning, September 27.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, a 2017 Kenworth ran off the left side of the road and hit a bridge pier on northbound I-55, 3 miles south of Matthews.

One bridge pier was destroyed and a second one was damaged. They said 20 feet of guardrail was also destroyed.

The driver, a 45-year-old man from Olive Branch, Mississippi, was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital with serious injuries.

According to Sgt. Clark Parrott with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the county road at that site was closed so Missouri Department of Transportation crews could inspect the integrity of the overpass.

I-55 was open and traffic was moving.