Man dies after dancing atop 18-wheeler, colliding with bridge on Houston highway

A man who was dancing atop an 18-wheeler as it rolled down a Houston highway last week died after colliding with a bridge and falling onto the roadway.

The 25-year-old man, whose identity has not been released by authorities, had gotten on top of the cargo portion of the truck without the knowledge of the driver, according to Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva.

Police said the red Kenworth tractor-trailer truck was traveling south in the 2500 block of Eastex Freeway at about 11:35 a.m. last Thursday when the man dancing on top of it – who might have been recording himself, police said – was knocked off as the truck passed underneath the Tuam Street Bridge.

Silva said the man who died and the driver of the 18-wheeler, another man, did not know each other.

“The driver isn’t even sure when the (other man) got on top of the truck,” Silva said.

The driver was questioned at the scene, determined not to be impaired and released, according to HPD, which said its investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The man who fell off the truck was transported by Houston Fire Department paramedics to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where he later was pronounced dead, according to HPD. The man died from multiple blunt impact injuries, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, which as of Tuesday had not released any more information about him.

“We haven’t had a case like this in quite some time,” Silva said.