Man struck, killed on Interstate 55 in St. Louis

A man putting gas in his friend's disabled vehicle on southbound Interstate 55 was struck and killed by a passing tractor-trailer Wednesday night, police said.

The man was standing near the passenger side of his friend's vehicle on the left shoulder of the highway when the truck, driving in the far left lane, hit him and dragged him several hundred feet, St. Louis police said. Police did not identify the man, pending next-of-kin notification.

The crash happened about 6:40 p.m. just north of the Sidney Street overpass, south of the I-44 interchange. The truck driver stopped.

Southbound traffic was backed up for an hour while crews worked at the scene and an accident reconstruction team was called in for the investigation. Police said southbound I-55 was shut down at I-44. By 7:50 p.m., all of the backed up traffic had made it past the crash site and the highway was shut down.

St. Louis Today

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Thursday, February 2, 2012 12:30 a.m.