82-year-old man ran across I-85 lanes then was hit and killed by a car, troopers say

An 82-year-old driver died after he ran back and forth across 11 total lanes of Interstate 85 in Charlotte to get directions and got hit while dashing back to his car, according to the NC State Highway Patrol.

Yefim Ostapuk and his wife got lost at about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday while traveling to their home in Utica, N.Y., after visiting their son in Inman, S.C., N.C. Trooper Ray Pierce told The Charlotte Observer.

Inman is in Spartanburg County, and Utica is in upstate New York. The drive is 820 miles one way via Interstates 85, 77 and 81.

Ostapuk pulled over on the right shoulder of I-85 northbound at the Glenwood Drive exit when he saw someone on a riding lawn mower off the southbound side of the interstate, Pierce said.

He ran across the four lanes of I-85 northbound, climbed over the 5-foot-tall median wall and made it across the four southbound lanes, according to the trooper. By that time, the mower was long gone, and Ostapuk decided to return to the couple’s car.

He made it across three lanes of I-85 southbound before he was hit and killed in the “fast lane,” Pierce said. The driver of the car that hit Ostapuk was not hurt, Pierce said. Neither was her passenger, according to the trooper. No charges were filed, Pierce said.

The speed limit on that stretch of the interstate is 60 mph, Pierce said. At 12 feet, the lanes are deceptively wide, but somehow Ostapuk made it across 48 feet of lanes in each direction, according to the trooper.

The Ostapuks’ son drove to the scene and took his mother back to his home, Pierce said. Yefim Ostapuk’s wife speaks only Russian, so her son translated for troopers at the scene.

The son also told troopers that his father was in excellent shape physically and mentally and that his parents had made the trip several times before.

Pierce said Ostapuk could have simply continued up the exit ramp and made a couple of left turns to reach the mower.