A morning drive on I-85 near Lexington turned deadly when a Jacksonville man survived a crash on the Yadkin River bridge, only to later go over the side of the span and into the water below, authorities said. His body was later recovered from the river near the Davidson-Rowan county line, and northbound traffic was tied up for hours while investigators tried to piece together what happened.
Davidson County deputies identified the victim as 41-year-old Michael Lee Hall of Jacksonville, Capt. Chris Poole told The Dispatch. According to the sheriff’s office, Hall had been traveling northbound on I-85 when his vehicle struck the center barrier on the Yadkin River bridge. Officials said he later went over the side of the bridge, and deputies recovered his body from the water before turning the case over to the coroner.
Rowan County Emergency Management Deputy Chief Allyson Summit told DavidsonLocal.com that first responders from Davidson, Rowan and Iredell counties were called to the single-vehicle crash shortly before 9:30 a.m. Witnesses and firefighters at the scene said the driver had been able to get out of the vehicle after it struck the barrier, though it was still unclear how he ended up in the river. Rescuers later pulled one man from the water, and he was pronounced dead.
Capt. Poole told The Dispatch that the N.C. Highway Patrol assisted with the investigation and that the cause of the fall remains unclear. He said northbound lanes at the bridge were shut down while crews worked the scene and did not fully reopen until about 2:25 p.m. Authorities have ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Why the bridge matters
The Yadkin River Veterans Memorial Bridge carries I-85 across the river between Rowan and Davidson counties and is a busy stretch of interstate where a single incident can quickly snowball into a major traffic and rescue operation. Design and construction details for the twin spans are documented on project and engineering pages, including the firm STV, which worked on the bridges. Because the roadway straddles county lines, serious crashes there routinely draw emergency responders from neighboring jurisdictions, and the river’s steep and wooded banks can complicate rescue and recovery efforts.
Investigation and next steps
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and asked anyone who saw the crash or who may have dash-cam footage from that stretch of I-85 to contact the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. Local emergency officials noted that the multi-jurisdictional response underscored how fast an incident on that section of interstate can become a regional operation, according to DavidsonLocal.com.
