Authorities suspect a medical problem in the death of a Council Bluffs man whose sport utility vehicle ran off the ramp near 60th Street and Interstate 80 Tuesday morning.
Stephen Gerharter, 60, was pronounced dead at the Nebraska Medical Center after passing motorists pulled him from his burning Jeep Cherokee about 7:30 a.m.
Omaha police said officers dispatched to a report of a collision found the SUV between the ramp and Interstate 80. They saw no evidence of a crash.
Witnesses said the SUV had caught fire and the driver was pulled out, unconscious. His foot had been on the accelerator, but the transmission was in neutral.
Omaha Police Sgt. Mike Hearty said he apparently veered to his left while driving down the exit ramp from westbound I-80.
Officers said they didn't know what caused the fire.
“All we know is that apparently several citizens stopped to help and pulled the man out of the Jeep,'' Hearty said.
It was one of at least three accidents that tied up rush-hour traffic on I-80 between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. Tuesday.
This report includes material from the Associated Press.
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