Raleigh mayor wants DOT review of I-440 barriers

The death happened around 7 p.m. along the I-440 Outer Beltline at Glenwood Avenue and Six Forks Road when Carroll Lee Eames Jr., 33, jumped over a barrier between the eastbound and westbound lanes to get out of the way of another vehicle.

Eames apparently did not realize there was a gap between the two lanes that opens below to Crabtree Creek, police said. He fell 70 feet to the creek and died. A second man, who also jumped, survived the fall with cuts and bruises.

It is the second such fatality in that location in recent years.

"When an accident like this happens twice, that is an indication that there does need to be some change made," Mayor Charles Meeker said. "I-440 is a North Carolina Department of Transportation Road, and I will ask them on Monday morning to take a look and see what is going on here and see what modification needs to be made."

DOT spokesman Steve Abbott said Saturday that it's the state's policy to review the sites of every fatal wreck to determine if road changes or upgrades are needed.

Abbott said the DOT will review Friday's fall involing Eames, but it has to wait for Raleigh police to conclude its investigation.

It's unclear if charges will be filed. The wrecks happened in quick succession, police said. The first left a car stopped sideways in the highway. Two cars then hit the first.