Car GPS Tells Man To Drive Off A Collapsed Bridge, Driver Follows Directions Over The Broken Edge

If your GPS told you to drive off a partially destroyed bridge, would you do it? A 64-year-old driver named Iftikhar Hussain listened to his out-of-date GPS directions, and the next thing he knew he and his wife Zohra were taking a 37-foot plunge straight down into the pavement.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, a 17-year-old cyclist says he was involved in a hit and run while he was riding a bike, but although the vehicle’s owners briefly stopped they refused to provide help since it was claimed his bloody face was too scary for their kids.

The Hussain family lives in Chicago, and they were traveling in Indiana in order to visit their family in another state. The Cline Avenue bridge has been closed since 2009, with a large section of it completely demolished after the the Indiana Department of Transportation condemned the bridge in 2010. Police investigators believe Hussain was so focused on following the GPS navigation directions that told him Cline Avenue was the correct way to go. The man apparently was unfamiliar with the area, and it is very likely he did not know the partially collapsed bridge would only lead them to their doom.

Unfortunately, the ramp was still accessible, although Lake County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Patricia Van Til says Mr. Hussain must have stubbornly driven his 2014 Nissan Sentra around barriers in order to stick to the bad GPS directions.

“The Cline Avenue bridge is marked with numerous barricades including orange barrels and cones, large wood signs stating “road closed” with orange striped markings,” Van Til explained, according to Fox News 13. “There are concrete barricades across the road to further indicate the road is closed.”

Amazingly, the married couple survived the 37-foot drop after their car smashed into the ground below. Mr. Hussain was able to drag himself from the wreckage, but the car burst into flames while his wife was still trapped inside. 51-year-old Zohra Hussain died of burns at the scene of the crash, but Iftikhar Hussain was taken to Methodist Hospital Northlake, where he was listed in stable condition.

According to NWI, “plans to build a privately financed toll bridge have dragged on for years. Construction of a new bridge over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is supposed to begin this spring.”

[Images via NWI.]