Kentucky Firefighter Rescues Truck Driver Dangling Off Bridge
Firefighters must be prepared to rescue community members just about anywhere, from burning homes to an inoperable elevator. However, emergency personnel also have to take a problem-solving approach to rescues involving dynamic circumstances. That’s the case with a Kentucky firefighter who rescued a woman from her semi-truck. However, this truck accident was not your typical crash; the personnel had to rescue the truck driver as she dangled off the side of a bridge.
A Louisville Firefighter rescued a woman from a semi-truck as it dangled above the Ohio River
In what Louisville Fire Department (LFD) Chief Brian O’Neill called a “once-in-a-career” event, LFD firefighters rescued a truck driver from a semi-truck crash on the Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky. However, as Chief O’Neill suggested, this was no straightforward vehicle extrication.
Instead, in a multi-vehicle accident, a semi-truck crashed through the barrier on the outermost edge of the bridge. In what authorities label as a stroke of luck, the semi came to a precarious rest dangling over the Ohio River. LFD responded quickly, and Firefighter Bryce Carden performed a high-angle rope rescue along with his teammates. Fortunately for the truck driver, she was quickly and safely back on the bridge.
The George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, or Clark Memorial Bridge for short, connects Louisville, Kentucky, with Southern Indiana. While the incident wasn’t in the exact middle of the channel, the Clark Memorial Bridge’s clearance is around 73 feet under normal conditions.
As such, the Sysco-liveried semi-truck tractor unit was dangling at a dangerous height above the Ohio River when it came to a stop. Fortunately for the truck driver, firefighters rescued her in a timely manner. According to WLKY, the rescue took just 40 minutes. However, the accident included several vehicles and at least one motorist with life-threatening injuries. Watch a video of the rescue below!
