A 22-year-old Lawrence man was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries Saturday night after he crashed a car into the underside of an Interstate 70 overpass.
About 7 p.m. Saturday, William Copp was driving a friend’s Ford Taurus south on Douglas County East 1600 Road.
Copp lost control of the vehicle, headed up an embankment and crashed into the underside of the bridge, according to Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Lewis. Copp was injured, but refused ambulance transport. He was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital by a friend. The car was towed.
Alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor in the accident as well as excessive speed.
After the accident, the Kansas Turnpike Authority inspected the overpass. The bridge is damaged and will have to be repaired, but the damage wasn’t significant enough to close it, KTA spokeswoman Lisa Callahan said.