When a crash sent a vehicle barreling into oncoming traffic and slammed into a Sysco semi-truck, the driver found herself dangling from the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River. All she could do was pray and hope that first responders would reach her in time.
“We were able to talk to her once we got to the bridge. We could see her. We could talk to her,” Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill reportedly said.
Upwards of 30 firefighters and EMTs worked vigorously to set up repelling apparatus in a race against time. The trucker was reportedly trapped in the cab after smashing through the four-lane bridge’s guardrail. Below was the sight of frigid Ohio River waters and the possibility it would be her last day.
“She was praying. She was praying a lot, and I prayed with her. So, that was good,” Louisville firefighter Bryce Carden reportedly said.
The trucker reportedly placed her faith and fate in God and Carden’s ability to extricate her safely from the cab before it plunged into the muddy waters below. For his part, the firefighter was also taking a leap of faith. Although he had trained for this type of emergency situation numerous times, he now “trusted the guys on the top side” to hold tight and pull the pair up. Carden told the truck driver to “take a deep breath” and help him get the emergency rescue harness on securely.
Needless to say, neither of them could imagine doing this inside a cab that could drop without warning. A YouTube video posted by WBNS 10TV shows the pair hanging by the rope system in mid-air over the river with the tractor-trailer’s cab and open hood pointing straight down.
Police reports indicate three other vehicles were involved in the bridge crash. The incident began on the other side of the four-lane roadway when two passenger vehicles and a pickup truck were embroiled in a high-speed accident. One vehicle was reportedly sent careening across the center into oncoming traffic. It made impact with the Sysco truck and the big rig broke through the guardrail.
The trailer became wedged in the steel girder bridge infrastructure, preventing the trucker from potentially drowning in the river. Multiple people in the incident were reportedly hospitalized, including the truck driver. Two people involved in the collision suffered severe or life-threatening injuries.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rogers_Clark_Memorial_Bridge
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