Dupo, IL : One person dead after an accident along Interstate 255 in Dupo on Monday morning, January 19, 2015

A man from south St. Louis County was fatally injured Monday morning when his car slammed into a concrete bridge along Interstate 255 near Dupo.

Cornelius Johnson, 66, died in the fiery crash on southbound I-255, at Route 3.

Authorities say he was driving a 2004 Saab convertible at about 3:15 a.m. when the car went off the right side of the interstate, traveled along a grassy portion and drove up the berm, hitting the bridge.

Police say the car overturned, rolled down an embankment and came to rest on the shoulder of I-255. The vehicle burst into flames, said Illinois State Police Trooper Chris Currier.

Johnson was alone in the car and had been wearing a seatbelt, authorities say. The St. Clair County coroner's office says he died of head and chest trauma from hitting the bridge and would have been dead before the fire.

Source :
St. Louis County man dies in fiery highway crash near Dupo