A Sysco driver was rescued from a truck dangling 22 metres over the Ohio river in Louisvale, KY.
A team of 30 firefighters helped to rescue a female Sysco truck driver from her dangling truck after a head-on collision had forced her cabin through the barrier of a bridge over the Ohio river in Louisville, Kentucky.
The rescue happened early Saturday morning South African time.
Rescue divers were on standby in the water 22 metres below the truck, which was swinging slightly and held only by the kingpin on the fifth wheel.
Firefighter Bryce Carden, who had abseiled down to hook the unnamed driver to a safety harness before lifting her back to safety, said she was “very calm but praying all the time – and I prayed with her!”
A spokesperson for food transporter Sysco on Monday thanked all involved for the rescue of their driver, who suffered only bruising, as well as crews that pulled the truck back onto the bridge, an operation that took seven hours.
The Sysco truck was struck head-on by a vehicle that had rebounded into her lane after it had collided with a stalled vehicle police said.
Two more cars were involved in the ensuing pile-up in what was Friday afternoon traffic in Louisvale.
The 95-year-old Clark Memorial Bridge carries about 24,000 vehicles a day over the Ohio River.
