Corpus Christi Caller-Times
By Steven Alford
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A man died Tuesday after his minivan left a roadway and struck a concrete pillar, bringing the city’s traffic fatality figure to one of the highest in two decades.
Officers were called about 4:30 p.m. to the 2000 block of South Padre Island Drive after reports of a wreck to find a red minivan left the roadway and rolled, said Capt. Weldon Weber of the Corpus Christi Police Department.
Police believe the driver, a man in his mid-70s, became distracted at the Greenwood Drive exit, crossed the median and struck a concrete support to the overpass.
The man may have dropped a cigarette while driving, Weber said.
Paramedics immediately began CPR on the driver who was taken to Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial, where he was pronounced dead, Weber said.
A teenage girl and an 11-year-old boy in the van also were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
All were wearing seat belts, and the van’s air bags deployed, but most of the impact was sustained on the driver’s side, Weber said.
The man’s name wasn’t released by authorities late Tuesday. His death is the 35th traffic fatality in Corpus Christi this year, equaling 2005 as the most traffic deaths in more than 20 years, according to police data.
There were 20 traffic deaths in the city last year.
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