Woman dies after being thrown from SUV in I-65 crash
By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
Hoover, AL
Hoover police and firefighters pulled an unconscious woman from her SUV off I-65 Friday, Jan. 1, 2016.
A woman pulled from her overturned SUV in a creek off Interstate 65 in Hoover this morning has now died.
Hoover police identified the victim as Audrey Deanna Armstrong of Calera. She was 37.
Hoover police and firefighters were dispatched to I-65 southbound between Alford Avenue and U.S. 31 at 9:27 a.m. When they arrived on the scene, they found Armstrong's 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer had left the roadway and traveled into the median and down a ravine, which was also heavily wooded, said police Capt. Gregg Rector.
The SUV, which had traveled about 80 feet off of the interstate, was on its side in the creek. Armstrong had been ejected and was partially pinned underneath her vehicle. A police officer and bystanders were helping to hold her head above water, said Hoover Executive Officer Rusty Lowe.
Lowe said Hoover's Technical Rescue Team used their high-angle ropes and equipment to pull her from beneath the SUV and take her to a waiting ambulance. The rescue took about 15 minutes.
Armstrong was taken to UAB Hospital. Rector said late Friday afternoon police were notified that Armstrong had died.
Hoover Police Traffic investigators will continue to investigate to determine the cause of the accident, Rector said.