Pedestrian’s death closes I-5 lanes near bridge

A man died about 5 p.m. Sunday when he dived in front of a commercial truck pulling a trailer full of groceries on northbound Interstate 5 where the freeway begins to cross the Willamette River, according to Oregon State Police.

Police were withholding the man’s name as of Sunday night pending notification of his relatives, state police spokesman Gregg Hastings said.

The incident caused the closure of the freeway’s northbound lanes for about 2½ hours. Traffic was slowed to a crawl and diverted to the University of Oregon/Franklin Boulevard exit.

Cars could be seen backed up all the way to the East 30th Avenue exit. Investigating troopers were on the bridge until state Department of Transportation crews reopened the northbound lanes about 7:30 p.m.

The area where the death occurred is part of a construction zone as crews continue building a new bridge over the Willamette, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2013.

The incident initially was reported as a man jumping off an overpass into oncoming traffic, but investigating troopers discovered otherwise.

The truck was traveling in the right-hand lane. The 53-year-old truck driver, who was not injured, and other witnesses told police that the man was seated on the median concrete divider before getting up and walking into the northbound left lane.

The truck driver moved his vehicle as far right as he could in an attempt to avoid hitting the man, who then dived in front of the truck, according to police.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office, the Springfield Police Department, local fire personnel and Transportation Department workers assisted at the scene.

Oregon state troopers from the Springfield office are investigating the crash.