International

An out-of-town driver following his car’s outdated GPS system drove off of a demolished Indiana bridge, killing his wife in the passenger seat, deputies said.

Iftikhar Hussain, 64, drove the couple’s 2014 Nissan Sentra off East Chicago’s Cline Avenue bridge — which closed in 2009 and is barricaded with bright orange barrels and cones. The car burst into flames after the 37-foot plunge into pavement below, The Times of Munster reported.

His wife, 51-year-old Zohra Hussain, died from burns, police said. Iftikhar Hussain was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injures.

Lake County deputies said Hussain was likely following directions from his GPS navigation system, which instructed him to turn onto a ramp to the now-demolished bridge over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal. The couple, from Chicago, was driving to visit family in Indiana and likely didn’t know the area, said Lake County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Patricia Van Til.

While the road leading up to the bridge is marked with large signs that read “road closed,” orange barrels and other barricades, Hussain was likely paying more attention to his GPS than the road, deputies said.

The Cline Avenue bridge closed in 2009 after deterioration from years of use by heavy semi-trucks made it a safety risk. A year later, officials condemned it. Construction of a new bridge over the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is scheduled to begin this spring.