'She was just praying': Driver miraculously rescued as semi-truck dangles off bridge over Ohio River

Andrew Chapados

Kentucky firefighters made a death-defying rescue of a truck driver who had veered off the Clark Memorial Bridge due to an accident, causing the cab of the semi-truck to dangle off the bridge over the water.

A Louisville firefighting crew made the rescue of a Sysco truck driver as the vehicle hung over the Ohio River. The truck crashed through the bridge's guardrail and was wedged between two steel beams that were thankfully secure enough to hold the truck in place for more than half an hour.

The truck reportedly crossed a traffic lane, Fox News noted, with firefighting officials stating that two other vehicles had been involved in the accident.

Dramatic video was captured from multiple angles as a rescue worker was lowered down on a harness to the truck driver, still in the driver's seat, as the semi was suspended some 70 feet above the water.

🚨#BREAKING: Dramatic Rescue Efforts can be seen as Semi-Truck Dangles Off the Bridge Connecting Kentucky and Indiana

📌#Louisville | #Kentucky

Currently, a large Sysco semi-truck dangles off the Clark Memorial Bridge between southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, following… pic.twitter.com/k0XGHd3TV8

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 1, 2024

"This is a once-in-a-career type of thing," Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill told reporters in a video posted by WLKY. "[It was] a pretty serious wreck that included two vehicles plus the semi. The two vehicles were in pretty bad shape, the semi was dangling off the edge of the second-street bridge," O'Neill added.

One crash victim was escorted to hospital immediately, fire officials stated, and the only other hospitalized person from the incident was the truck driver, for precautionary reasons.

Fire Chief O'Neill explained that it took his crew about 40 minutes to set up a rope system and rappel down to the driver.

"She was just praying, she was praying a lot, so I prayed with her," said Bryce Carden, the firefighter who made the rescue.

"Sysco is enormously grateful to rescue services and law enforcement who quickly and safely resolved the accident on the Clark Memorial Bridge today," a spokesperson told Fox News. "We are thankful our Sysco colleague is safe and thank the first responders for their courageous efforts rescuing our driver. Safety is a priority at Sysco, and we are cooperating with the law enforcement investigation."

Early reports have been unclear as to how or why the truck crossed lanes before crashing through the guardrails. The bridge is closed at the time of this publication and repairs will need to be made to the bridge's structure. 

Andrew Chapados, Blaze Media, 1-3-2024