Official: Barrier moved before car went off demolished road

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) – An official says at least one concrete barrier and one barricade sign were moved before a car drove off a closed road leading to a demolished bridge in East Chicago, killing a woman last week.

Fifty-one-year-old Zohra Hussain died of burns, and her 64-year-old husband Iftikhar Hussain, who was driving the car, was injured. Authorities say the car fell 37 feet off the elevated roadway Saturday.

Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Deitchley tells The Times of Munster the concrete barrier would be difficult to move by hand. He says crews check the barriers and signs at least once a week, but that he didn’t know the last time they were checked.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the accident. Authorities say the driver may have been following GPS navigation.