Rideshare passenger dies after jumping from car on tollway, police say
CEDAR PARK, Texas - Cedar Park Police are investigating a disturbing incident on a busy tollway. A rideshare passenger died early Monday morning, after apparently jumping out of the moving car.
"The customers were in early this morning, letting us know that there had been a bad crash," said Janet Sterling, assistant manager at the Circle K on New Hope Drive near 183A.
Around 6:30 AM, police got an unusual call from a rideshare driver, who was headed north on the 183A tollway by the H-E-B Center.
"The Cedar Park Police Department received a call from a rideshare driver saying a passenger jumped from a moving vehicle," said Cedar Park Police Cpl. Ryan Zander.
The rider exited the car near the Scottsdale Drive overpass, landing in the roadway. "Officers responded, we located a deceased person in that vicinity," said Zander.
"There was some kind of barricade around the body at that time," said Sterling.
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Cedar Park Police quickly shut down the northbound lanes of the tollway between Whitestone Boulevard and Crystal Falls Parkway, snarling rush-hour traffic.
"They were late for work, a lot of them this morning, and had to find alternate routes to get to where they needed to be," said Sterling.
The tollway reopened around 10 a.m. Monday, but there are still many unanswered questions about what led up to this bizarre and tragic incident.
"That's going to be the ongoing investigation, to figure out everything that occurred," said Zander.
The Cedar Park Police Criminal Investigations Division is now looking into why and how it happened.
"I don't know what they were trying to get away from, and why did they feel the need to do that? I can't imagine," said Sterling.
Sterling says she’s saddened, and still in shock that this happened so close to where she works.
"Very much so, that anybody would jump out of anything that's moving on the highway here in Texas. It's just not something you do, without thinking about it," said Sterling. "I really am sorry for the family, whoever it is."
As of Monday evening, police have not released the age or identity of the person who died.