Ohio to require fencing after sandbag hits car, kills man

The bridge where the sandbag was dropped had fencing, but much of it was removed for a reconstruction project (Pixabay photo)

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Transportation is planning to require fencing at some overpass construction sites after a Michigan man was killed by a sandbag thrown through a car windshield.

The department is drafting a new rule that would require temporary fencing when it removes permanent barriers at construction sites.

The change comes after 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, of Warren, Michigan, died in December after a car he was riding in was struck by a sandbag tossed onto Interstate 75 in Toledo.

Authorities have charged four teenagers with throwing the sandbag and other objects at cars.

The bridge where the sandbag was dropped had fencing, but much of it was removed for a reconstruction project.

A year ago, the transportation department agreed to increase the number of highway overpasses with fencing.