Tractor-trailer plunges from turnpike overpass, killing driver, troopers say

'This happens more than you know,' one neighbor says

DAVIE, Fla. – A tractor-trailer driver was killed early Saturday after he lost control of his 18-wheeler and plunged more than 80 feet off an exit ramp along Florida's Turnpike in Davie, authorities said.

Lt. Alvaro Feola, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said the crash happened around 6:30 a.m. at the Griffin Road exit. The tractor-trailer crashed through a concrete median wall and struck a light pole before landing several feet below on the shoulder of Griffin Road, Feola said.

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Authorities identified the driver as 29-year-old Roliandis Danger Oliveros, of Miami Gardens.

No one else was hurt in the crash.

Paramedics pronounced the Oliveros, who was not identified, dead at the scene.

Linda Simpson lives near the exit ramp, and she heard a loud bang early this morning and went out to investigate. She and her neighbors called 911 when they found the 18-wheeler in pieces.

"This happens more than you know. People are driving quickly. It happens to motorcycles, cars. But going around that corner, it’s too dangerous. All I can tell you people is be more careful, especially with 18-wheelers," Simpson said.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers shut down a portion of southbound Griffin Road near the turnpike exit for several hours while authorities cleared the scene.