By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FORT THOMAS - Authorities are investigating the cause of an early morning one-car crash that left a Fort Thomas woman dead and closed northbound Interstate-471 for two hours, backing up traffic for miles.

Police reopened a section of I-471 between US 27 and Grand Avenue at 8:30 a.m. today, said Fort Thomas Police Lt. Mark Dill. Authorities did not release the victim's name, pending notification of her family.

The accident occurred just before 5 a.m. on northbound I-471 a couple of miles south of the Daniel Carter Beard (I-471) Bridge.

Dill said a late model, four-door Hyundai Elantra struck the guardrail on the right side of the highway, bounced off and skidded across four traffic lanes, hitting the concrete barrier separating I-471's north and southbound lanes. The driver, who was less than a mile from her home, was wearing a seat belt, and her air bags deployed.

Fort Thomas paramedics transported the woman to University Hospital in Cincinnati, where she was pronounced dead.

Dill said police may never know what caused the accident. He said there were no passengers in the car and no witnesses to the wreck. A sheriff's deputy who was heading to Ohio to pick up a prisoner reported the accident.

"(The victim) could have been avoiding an animal, or she could have fallen asleep,'' Dill said. He added police did not know where the woman was going at the time of the accident.

Fort Thomas police were reconstructing the accident this morning, Dill said. They were trying to determine the vehicle's speed, based on the skid marks and its impact on the barrier.

Traffic backed up for at least three miles on northbound I-471 this morning, Dill said. Traffic also backed up on Interstate 275 for several miles. Wilder Police diverted northbound I-471 traffic onto northbound US 27 for the two hours I-471 was closed.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com