Jan. 15--A driver who collided with another car on the Congress Parkway bridge stopped to ask the other driver if she was all right, then plunged into the Chicago River and was rescued 15 minutes later by Chicago Fire Department divers, officials said.
A red Ford Mustang and a Lexus SUV crashed on the bridge about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. One of the drivers, a man, asked the other driver, a woman, if she was all right before going into the river, said First District Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Horan.
The man was in the water about 15 minutes before two divers jumped out of a helicopter and rescued him, Horan said. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, while the woman declined to be treated, he said.
The man initially was listed in serious-to-critical-condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.
Photos from the scene showed a black SUV on its side in the right westbound lane of the expressway bridge. The Mustang was pointed north, across the lane.
