Update 6 p.m. : Indian River Boulevard and the Merill Barber Bridge have reopened, according to police.
Earlier story
VERO BEACH — A bicyclist is dead after being struck by a vehicle at the base of the Merill Barber Bridge, police said.
Police got a call at 12:41 p.m. Friday of a vehicle striking a bicyclist that was turning onto the Barber Bridge from Indian River Boulevard, police spokeswoman Megan DeWitt said. The bicyclist was taken to the Indian River Medical Center.
Details on whether the bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene or at the hospital were not available. Further details on the crash and bicyclist also were not available.
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Traffic on IR Boulevard is being diverted because of a fatal crash involving a vehicle and bicyclist.
Posted by Nick Samuel on Friday, February 2, 2018
Motorists experienced long delays in traffic following the crash. The traffic congestion led to more minor accidents on State Road A1A, eastbound 17th Street at the base of the Alma Lee Loy bridge and on U.S. 1, police said.
Westbound lanes on the Barber Bridge are closed. Indian River Boulevard is closed between 37th Street and Royal Palm Boulevard, DeWitt said.
Eastbound traffic will not be able to cross the bridge because of the closing of Indian River Boulevard.
Traffic on the 17th Street bridge and on State Road A1A was heavy and moving slowly about 4 p.m. Details on when all roads will reopen were not available.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Here are the detours motorists should follow, provided by Vero Beach Police Department
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
