Driver Rescued from Truck Dangling Over Ky. Bridge

A semi-truck driver was rescued from the vehicle as it dangled off of a Kentucky bridge on Friday.

The multi-vehicle crash occurred around noon on the Clark Memorial Bridge above the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky. Two other vehicles and the commercial semi-tractor truck collided, causing the truck to go over and dangle off the side of the bridge. 

The semi-truck driver is in stable condition but was transported to the local hospital, said Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill. One other person involved in the crash was taken to the hospital, O’Neill explained during a press conference shared by local CBS affiliate WLKY. He did not share details of the second person’s condition.

The multi-vehicle crash happened shortly after noon, Louisville Metro Emergency Services said on Facebook. Louisville Metro EMS, MetroSafe Call Takers and Dispatchers, and Louisville Metro Police Department all arrived at the site. Both sides of the bridge were then closed off as the first responders facilitated the rescue. 

The Louisville Fire Department arrived at the scene with 30 firefighters. The officials then deployed an aerial ladder to create a pulley system with a safety rope to rescue the tractor’s driver. Once the EMS teams arrived, they “were able to talk to her,” said O’Neill at the press conference. “We could see her. We could talk to her.”

Bryce Carden, a firefighter who specializes in high-angle rescues, rappelled down to the driver and safely brought her back to the bridge.

In the press conference, Carden, 29, said that he had “trained for this situation probably a hundred times.” He explained that when he got to the driver, she was praying “a lot.”

Once Carden got ahold of her, he said that the driver kept thanking God and worked with her to get the harness on. “I said, ‘Take a deep breath, and here’s what I need you to do,” Carden said during the press conference. “Because I needed her to assist in moving certain ways to get the harness on right and tight. Once we did that we got her free from the seatbelt and she was on my system. I knew that we were good from there.” 

“I was not nervous at all going over the edge because I knew that they had me on the top side. Once I reached her, she was super calm, collected and helped me do what I need to do to get her to safety, essentially,” explained Carden. “And it all worked out for the best and we’ll go back to quarters and get ready to do it again if we have to.”

Carden and the driver were safely back on the bridge at 12:45 p.m. 

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“He is the exact right person to put down there to try to keep that patient calm,” O’Neill said of Carden. “These were some serious heroes today.”

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg echoed the Chief’s sentiments.

“I want to give a huge thanks to firefighter Bryce Carden and the other first responders who rushed to the scene today and bravely rescued the truck driver on the Clark Memorial Bridge. She is alive thanks to your heroic efforts,” Greenberg said.

The bridge remained closed Friday afternoon, and the Louisville Metro Police are investigating the crash, reports the Associated Press.