A man who died falling from a bridge over the M62 has been named as Christopher Bardsley - he was due to celebrate his 46th birthday on Saturday.
Mr Bardsley lost his life after plunging from Scammonden Bridge just after 6am.
The alarm was raised at 5am after his presence on the bridge was reported to police as a concern for safety, the Huddersfield Examiner reports .
The motorway was closed in both directions for several hours as police dealt with the tragedy and a separate fatal crash causing major disruption for rush-hour motorists.
A West Yorkshire police spokesman said the Force had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as the incident followed police contact.
He said: "Officers were called to the area at 5am this morning after reports of a man being sighted on the bridge.
"The man fell from the bridge at around 6am. He died as result of his injuries.
"West Yorkshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct as the incident followed police contact."
A spokesman for the IOPC said: "We have started an independent investigation into West Yorkshire Police’s prior contact with a man who died after falling on to the M62 between Milnrow and Brighouse this morning (Wednesday 8 May).
"We understand that police were in attendance when the man fell from the bridge between Junctions 22 and 23 at about 6am. The motorway was closed in both directions.
"We were contacted by West Yorkshire Police and declared an independent investigation at around 6.45am.
"An investigator attended the post incident procedure to begin gathering information."
In the separate incident a 50-year-old motorcyclist died after colliding with a stationary highways vehicle at 12.30am at Ainley Top.
