Driver Blindly Follows GPS Off Bridge, Kills Wife: Cops

Couple managed to drive past warnings and barriers: officials
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 30, 2015 8:40 AM CDT
Driver Blindly Follows GPS Off Bridge, Kills Wife: Cops
A driver may have followed GPS off a bridge, police say.   (Shutterstock)

A stark reminder to not let your GPS rule your common sense: In East Chicago, Indiana, a man drove off a ramp to a bridge that no longer exists, injuring himself and killing his wife, the Times of Northwest Indiana reports. Husband Iftikhar Hussain, 64, was the one at the wheel, per the Chicago Sun-Times, and police believe he skirted numerous barricades and warnings as he listened too closely to the guidance of his GPS. The car fell almost 38 feet, and while Hussain survived the incident, his wife, Zohra, didn't.

Iftikhar Hussain apparently escaped the car before it burst into flames; he was hospitalized and reported in stable condition, the Times notes. "The Cline Avenue bridge is marked with numerous barricades including orange barrels and cones, large wood signs stating 'Road Closed' with orange striped markings," a sheriff's rep says. "There are concrete barricades across the road to further indicate the road is closed." The couple, from Chicago, Ill., appears not to have known the area well; they were believed to have been visiting relatives. (More Indiana stories.)

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