Airborne car crashes onto 24th St.

An Omaha woman was severely injured this morning when the car she was driving left a closed portion of Interstate 480 and crashed onto North 24th Street below, police said.

Amanda M. Austin, 19, was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-480 at a high speed about 5:30 a.m., police said.

The white 1993 Saturn then veered right off the westbound Interstate onto a closed portion that had been imploded several weeks ago, said traffic Sgt. Anthony Gutierrez. The four-door car became airborne and landed below on 24th Street.

Austin was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where she was being treated for a broken back, lacerated liver and numerous fractures to her right leg, Gutierrez said.

The closed roadway had no barricades where the car entered, he said, because access could be gained only if someone was traveling the wrong way on the Interstate.

The Saturn dropped about 18 feet, he said, and landed on 24th Street about 75 feet south of Cass Street.

Another closed portion of I-480, a former bridge near 30th and Dodge Streets, was imploded overnight but did not factor into the early-morning crash, Gutierrez said.