This happened locally at noon today. Truck driver rescued after dangling over the Ohio River for about an hour.
Close Call For Truck Driver
- Thread starter kd4ulw
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Which bridge was that? Hell of a rescue. Major kudos to the firemen
Clark Memorial or 2nd Street Bridge as we call it.
Cause?
They reported it was a 4 vehicle crash but said the investigation was ongoing. One of the other drivers is in pretty bad shape.
One of the big problems with that bridge is that is old, 4 kind of narrow lanes and the support structure comes up right next to the roadway, between it and the sidewalk. Many fatalities have happened by hitting the support structures.
One of the big problems with that bridge is that is old, 4 kind of narrow lanes and the support structure comes up right next to the roadway, between it and the sidewalk. Many fatalities have happened by hitting the support structures.
Did they save the truck too?
They removed it by midnight.
Driver on the Clark Memorial Bridge describes semi-truck crash
Noelle FrielPublished: Mar. 1, 2024 at 11:55 PM EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A semi-truck is now cleared from Clark Memorial Bridge after the dramatic rescue of a semi-truck driver left dangling above the Ohio River following a multi-car crash on the bridge.
Crews completed the entire rescue within 40 minutes of arriving on scene.
One of the drivers on the bridge at the time of the crash was Louisville resident Phil Gollar. He says it all started when a pickup truck was swerving through traffic. “He passes the mustang that was in front of us and by the time he passes him, the traffic was stopped in front of us,” Gollar said. “He smashed right into those people but then his truck went right into the semi.” That’s when he says the semi-truck lost control and went through the guardrail. Miraculously, it didn’t fall over into the river.
Gollar hopped out of his car and yelled down to the driver. She yelled back up to him.
“She was constantly asking how much longer, how much of my trailer is hanging off of the bridge,” Gollar said. “I didn’t really want to tell her but I told her the truth. I was like it’s over halfway, your trailer is hanging halfway off. I was just trying to tell her to be calm and everybody’s on their way.”
He says he stayed with her as long as he could until emergency crews cleared the scene.
“I hated leaving her after talking to her like that,” Gollar said. The crash involved four vehicles in total. Two people involved in the crash were taken to UofL Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The semi driver wasn’t seriously hurt, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Gollar says he feels lucky to have walked away unharmed.
“I’ve been thinking about how a few seconds, a couple seconds ahead of that, she could’ve hit the car in front of me or my car and knocked us into the river,” Gollar said. “It makes you think about a lot of things.”
As he watched the rescue on TV, he says he was shocked at how quickly the fire department was able to bring her to safety.
“It was incredible the way they got her out and how fast they did it,” Gollar said.
Copyright 2024 WAVE. All rights reserved.
https://www.wave3.com/2024/03/02/driver-clark-memorial-bridge-describes-semi-truck-crash/
Driver on the Clark Memorial Bridge describes semi-truck crash
Noelle FrielPublished: Mar. 1, 2024 at 11:55 PM EST
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A semi-truck is now cleared from Clark Memorial Bridge after the dramatic rescue of a semi-truck driver left dangling above the Ohio River following a multi-car crash on the bridge.
Crews completed the entire rescue within 40 minutes of arriving on scene.
One of the drivers on the bridge at the time of the crash was Louisville resident Phil Gollar. He says it all started when a pickup truck was swerving through traffic. “He passes the mustang that was in front of us and by the time he passes him, the traffic was stopped in front of us,” Gollar said. “He smashed right into those people but then his truck went right into the semi.” That’s when he says the semi-truck lost control and went through the guardrail. Miraculously, it didn’t fall over into the river.
Gollar hopped out of his car and yelled down to the driver. She yelled back up to him.
“She was constantly asking how much longer, how much of my trailer is hanging off of the bridge,” Gollar said. “I didn’t really want to tell her but I told her the truth. I was like it’s over halfway, your trailer is hanging halfway off. I was just trying to tell her to be calm and everybody’s on their way.”
He says he stayed with her as long as he could until emergency crews cleared the scene.
“I hated leaving her after talking to her like that,” Gollar said. The crash involved four vehicles in total. Two people involved in the crash were taken to UofL Hospital with life-threatening injuries. The semi driver wasn’t seriously hurt, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Gollar says he feels lucky to have walked away unharmed.
“I’ve been thinking about how a few seconds, a couple seconds ahead of that, she could’ve hit the car in front of me or my car and knocked us into the river,” Gollar said. “It makes you think about a lot of things.”
As he watched the rescue on TV, he says he was shocked at how quickly the fire department was able to bring her to safety.
“It was incredible the way they got her out and how fast they did it,” Gollar said.
Copyright 2024 WAVE. All rights reserved.
https://www.wave3.com/2024/03/02/driver-clark-memorial-bridge-describes-semi-truck-crash/
The only thing that kept the truck from going into the river was the back corner of the trailer was wedged under the superstructure of the bridge.
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That is an amazing recovery. Seems they need to lower the speed limit on that bridge?
The speed limit is only 35 mph. 
If i were dangling from a bridge in a vehicle I'm sure i'd look over at the bank and see this... 
