CINCINNATI — One woman is dead after her vehicle went over the side of a bridge on I-275 in Northern Kentucky Tuesday night.
According to a press release from Wilder police, 32-year-old Cheryl Kidwell of Brooksville, Ky. was pronounced dead after multiple vehicles were involved in a crash on top of the Licking River Bridge.
Wilder police said there was heavy traffic on I-275 near the KY-9 exit and while drivers were trying to change lanes, a crash occurred. During the collision, a semi truck overturned and slid on its side, Wilder police said.
In the crash, a pick-up truck was pushed over the side of the bridge, police said. Its driver was pronounced dead at the scene by the Campbell County Coroner's Office. No one else was in the truck.
Four other people involved in the crash were taken to a hospital with injuries police said were not life-threatening.
Wilder Fire Chief Doug Neyman said six vehicles were involved.
All eastbound lanes of I-275 were blocked for hours near the Taylor Mill Road exit following the crash.
Drivers who witnessed the scene said there were multiple vehicles involved in the crash, including a semi that landed on its side.
Debris was scattered across the road and the guardrails appeared to be impacted.
"I saw a huge billow of smoke," said Ryan Rowley, who saw the crash. "And I thought I saw a car go off the side. I wasn't 100% sure ... I mean, it's pretty, pretty tragic."
Rowley said what will stick with him is seeing the people involved in the crash walking around after it happened.
"Just the faces on the people who survived that crash ... I've been thinking about it, and I'm a combat veteran, you know, that face was that look that you see in the battlefields surviving a battle," Rowley said. "It was kind of like you cheated death."
A spokesperson with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said repairs to the bridge began Wednesday. The repairs should take roughly a week. It's not yet clear whether there will be an impact to traffic during the repairs, the spokesperson said.
Signage will be posted along the highway to notify drivers of the repair work and any closures that might occur, KYTC said.
There have been 293 accidents on I-275 E between mile markers 77 and 79, since Jan. 1, 2018, according to data from Kentucky State Police, analyzed by WCPO.
Tuesday's crash was the first fatal collision since 2018, according to the data.
A planning study was completed for that stretch of roadway last year, according to a KYTC spokesperson.
"We just need funding to move forward with the design," the spokesperson said.
