A lorry driver was miraculously rescued from a semi-truck that crashed through a bridge guardrail and dangled over the frigid Ohio River.
Dramatic footage from the scene captured the moment that a first responder hooked to a crane was lowered to the cab of the truck and pulled the driver out.
The two hung over the river alongside the lorry hanging halfway over the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tethered to a rope and holding on to each other, both were slowly hoisted up and to safety onto the bridge, shows the video obtained by WDRB.
The driver cheated death, as falling into the icy cold river would have been like hitting cement.
About 45 minutes after the rescue, the Louisville Police Department wrote on X (Twitter) that ‘the driver of the semi has been rescued from the cab of the vehicle and is on land’.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said the woman stuck in the cab was ‘extremely lucky’ that the lorry did not fall into the river. He identified the first responder who repelled down to her as Bryce Carden.
‘This is probably one of the nicest, happiest guys that you’ll ever want to meet in your life, O’Neill told the TV station of Carden.
‘And he is the exact right person to put down there to try to keep that patient calm and very cool and collected, to understand that she’s in safe hands so that she doesn’t panic and to know that you’ve got trained professionals helping out.’
Sysco, a food and kitchen appliance retailer that operated the truck, stated they were ‘enormously grateful to rescue services and law enforcement who quickly and safely resolved the accident’.
‘We are thankful our Sysco colleague is safe and thank the first responders for their courageous efforts rescuing our driver,’ stated the company.
‘Safety is a priority at Sysco, and we are cooperating with the law enforcement investigation.’
The truck was traveling northbound on the bridge when it went across the lane and burst through the bridge guardrail shortly after noon on Friday, local reports indicated.
It was not immediately known why or how the truck busted through the guardrail and if the driver or anyone else was injured. The driver’s identity has not been revealed.
The lorry remained hanging off the bridge after the driver was rescued. The bridge was closed to traffic as authorities continued to work the scene.
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