A truck driver was dramatically rescued from his cab after a crash left it dangling over the side of a highway bridge in Kentucky.
The terrified motorist called and told a 911 operator “I’m just hanging over the bridge, I don’t want to die” while hanging from the elevated highway on Interstate 65, just south of the Kennedy Bridge in Louisville.
Emergency authorities took about half-an-hour to rescue the man, who had stayed on the emergency phone line for a gruelling 18 minutes until the Louisville Fire Department (LFD) arrived.
In audio from the 911 call, released by the Louisville Metro Government, the driver tells the operator: “Will you guys please help me, I’m about to... I’m about to fall down from the bridge.
“I’m really afraid to move in the truck right now.”
At one point during the call, the trucker makes a heartbreaking request of the dispatcher, who is striving to keep him calm, by saying: “Please, if I don’t survive, can you just leave the recording for my family?”
Arriving on the Kennedy Bridge to find the semi-truck dangling up to 20ft above Interstates 64 and 71, its trailer jack-knifed behind it, rope specialists at LFD lowered a rescuer down over the cab to retrieve the stricken driver.
Video of the triumphant rescue effort, subsequently released by the emergency services, showed the rescuer being carefully positioned over the cab before descending to help the driver into a secure harness and slowly hauling him to safety.
“If you can imagine when you’re on an interstate, it’s a highly, highly dangerous position to set up any type of operation,” fire chief Brian O’Neill said in the aftermath of the incident.
The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution but appeared not to have sustained any serious physical injury as a result of his ordeal.
“Our city’s first responders worked together quickly to help save the driver,” the LFD said in its Facebook post describing the incident.
“It takes everyone to perform this brave act, from the 911 call center fielding the call for help, to dispatching Louisville Fire, [Louisville Metro Police Department] LMPD blocking traffic during the rescue, and [Emergency Medical Services] EMS transporting the semi-truck driver to the hospital.
“We are one Louisville. We’re also grateful to report the driver wasn’t hurt in the crash and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
“Thank you to our incredible first responders!”
Authorities have yet to reveal what caused the driver to lose control on the highway but have said an investigation is underway.
The episode follows a similar disaster last year on the nearby George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, connecting Louisville with southern Indiana, which saw a female driver left suspended over the Ohio River for 40 minutes before being freed.
