Truck hit guard rail three times, landed upside-down in fatal Lebanon crash

Police said Tuesday that a motorist who died in a one-vehicle crash on U.S. 50 near Lebanon hit the guard rail three times before landing upside-down in water.

Joseph Rewerts, 33, of Belleville, lost control of his 2001 Dodge Dakota at about 6:50 a.m. Sunday morning near Lebanon.

“He hit the guard rail on the right side of the road about four miles east of Rieder Road,” State Police spokesman Calvin Dye Jr. said. “He then hit it again about 100 yards down the road, the length of a football field.”

Rewerts struck the guard rail a third time and then hit riprap at the edge of the road with the front of his truck, causing it to flip and land on its roof in water.

GUEST BOOK: Express your condolences to the family of Joseph Rewerts

St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. He believes the cause of death is likely to be blunt-force trauma.

Stone said toxicology tests were pending.

Dye said Tuesday the cause of the accident was still under investigation.

The crash closed U.S. 50 in both directions for several hours, according to Lebanon Police Chief Dave Roth.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Truck hit guard rail three times, landed upside-down in fatal Lebanon crash."