Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was struck and killed by a dump truck while attempting to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 on foot for unknown reasons on Saturday morning.
NBC 6 South Florida spoke to a man who says he believes he saw the 24-year-old Haskins on I-595 westbound just minutes before the crash.
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“I was dropping off my daughter to an airline at the Fort Lauderdale Airport in the morning,” said Chris Stanley.
Stanley said he was on the way home after leaving the airport, and heading towards the off-ramp to Interstate 95 north when he noticed vehicles veering into his lane.
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“And what I noticed was a Mack truck, or a big tractor-trailer, with also another vehicle that started moving a little bit to the left,” said Stanley. “I was in the left lane and then there was the right lane. And then I noticed an individual there starting to make their way onto the road."
Stanley said he saw the man's arms raised up a little bit as he appeared to be drifting into the major highway.
“He was about halfway, to a quarter way in the right lane, already onto the highway and I was already concerned that somebody was going to strike him right there at that moment," he said.
Stanley said he was so concerned that he dialed 911 and shared a screenshot of his call log with NBC 6 with a call to 911 at 6:31 a.m. — six minutes before Florida Highway Patrol officials said the crash was reported at 6:37 a.m.
Stanley said he did not notice a vehicle along I-595 westbound that may have belonged to Haskins.
“I did not see any vehicle nearby,” said Stanley. “I was more concerned with him because he was already making his way onto the road system."
NBC 6 reporter asked Stanley if there were any conclusions he could draw about what the person he believes to be Haskins was attempting to do along I-595.
"I could not,” said Stanley. “That's why it's just very disturbing. I just didn't understand the situation.”
FHP says the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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