Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg: Semi-truck hit by a vehicle that crossed onto the oncoming lane
Semi-truck hangs off a Kentucky bridge, rescuers save the driver
Rescuers save a truck driver after a vehicle collision caused it to hang over the lip of a bridge.
Officials said that a semi-truck driver was stuck hanging over a bridge in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, after a car crossed into oncoming traffic, slammed the tractor-trailer, and then crossed back into it.
At a Saturday press conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg provided new information about the rescue of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge that connects Louisville with southern Indiana across the Ohio River.
Greenberg reported that the initial crash occurred around 12:15 pm local time after a southbound car hit a stalled vehicle and crossed over into northbound traffic. It then struck the tractor-trailer, causing it to fall through the guardrail, and hang precariously from the edge of the bridge.
Rescuers rushed to set up the rope system to rappel Bryce Carden to the ground to save the woman.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill stated Friday that it took 40 minutes for rescuers to install a rope system across the bridge while the driver was still trapped in the dangling cabin.
Carden was captured on video rappelling to the cab and securing the driver to a safety harness before lifting her back safely to the surface of the bridge. Officials confirmed that the woman was unharmed.
Bryce Carden of Louisville, shown above, rappelled to the cab hanging in the air to save the driver. Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill called the rescue crew “some serious heroes.”
Greenberg confirmed that, although the driver’s identity had not been made public, he had spoken to the woman.
She is brave beyond belief. He said, “She is extremely lucky.”
Firefighters pulled the semi-truck driver to safety after the three-vehicle accident on the bridge linking Louisville, Kentucky, and southern Indiana.
According to the police, three other cars were involved, and two people with potentially life-threatening injuries were transported to hospital.
Bryce Carden, a Louisville firefighter, rescued the driver Friday of a semi-truck that was hanging off the Clark Memorial Bridge across the Ohio River.
James Ballinger, Kentucky’s state highway engineer, said that although the bridge, and in particular the pedestrian walkway, will require repairs, its structural integrity has not been compromised.