The pedestrian who was killed by an oncoming vehicle while attempting to cross the outer ring road had been arrested the night before for drunk and disorderly behaviour.
The man, in his forties, was arrested by police late on Wednesday and taken to the hospital in a state on inebriation, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
The public prosecutor told Belgian media that the man left the hospital and as he attempted to cross Brussels' outer ring road, he was hit by a car and died on the road early on Thursday.
"At around 5:30 AM the police were notified of the accident on the outer ring. The victim was the same man who had left the hospital," Stéphanie Lagasse of the Brussels public prosecutor's office told Bruzz.
Initial reports said that there had been two cars involved in the incident, but later reports confirmed that only a single car had hit both the pedestrian and an overhead road sign, causing it to collapse.
The accident caused major traffic disturbances throughout Thursday mornings, as the collapse road sign was removed from the road and investigators analysed the scene of the fatal accident.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times