Aug 8, 2019 1 min read

A Monessen man died when he leaped Monday from a tall Interstate 70 bridge in Westmoreland County after he attempted to drive his car off the superstructure.

A spokesman for Coroner Kenneth A. Bacha said Brian Hayden, 39, was pronounced dead at 4:05 p.m. after his body was pulled from the Youghiogheny River near Rostraver.

Witnesses told investigators that Hayden was traveling west about 2:40 p.m. when he tried to drive his vehicle through the north wall of the Smithton-I-70 bridge, the spokesman said.

The vehicle then struck the concrete center bridge barrier, where it came to rest.

Hayden then dove off the bridge, which towers 143 feet above the river. He landed in water about 8 feet deep, the coroner’s office said.

Investigators were treating the death as a suicide. The cause and manner of Hayden’s death were pending further investigation.