Semi-Truck Driver Rescued From Cab Dangling Over 70-Foot Drop in California
Rescue crews had to save the driver of a semi-truck that crashed in California on Wednesday from the cab dangling 70 feet above the San Luis Rey River. The harrowing crash occurred on Interstate 5 near Harbor Drive.
Emergency crews were able to pull the driver out through the semi-truck’s rear window as it hung off the bridge in the rain. Reports indicate the accident did not injure the driver.
According to the Mercury News, the crash was reported just after 5:05 a.m. When emergency crews arrived on the scene, the first thing they did was stabilize the semi-truck using “rigging systems with ropes and cables to secure it,” said Oceanside Fire Department Division Chief Blake Dorse.
Firefighters equipped with harnesses then removed the cab’s rear window. The driver reportedly assisted in extricating him from the semi-truck.
Authorities also called a hazmat team to the scene of the accident, as the crash sheared two diesel fuel tanks off the truck. One landed on the freeway, the other fell off the bridge and landed 70 feet below in the riverbed, according to Division Chief Blake Dorse.
“The Oceanside Fire Department reminds motorists to exercise caution during wet-weather conditions,” fire officials said in a statement. “If possible, avoid unnecessary travel during rain [and otherwise] reduce speed and maintain safe following distances behind other vehicles.”
Similar recent incidents with semi-trucks dangling off bridges
In January, rescuers saved a driver from a truck dangling off a bridge in West Virginia amid snowfall after he had been trapped for nearly five hours, 80 to 100 feet off the ground. More than 20 first responders “assembled to pull off this highly dangerous technical rescue,” Hurricane Fire volunteer firefighter Westley Quinn said after the heroic save.
Last year, Kentucky firefighters executed the rescue of a semi-truck driver who was dangling 70 to 100 feet over the Ohio River on the Clark Memorial Bridge. In that case, the Louisville Fire Department’s heavy rescue team used a specialized, high-angle rope system to reach the cab. A firefighter then rappelled down, secured the driver in a harness, and helped lift her to safety after about 45 minutes.
