Driver Rescued From Truck Dangling Off Kentucky Bridge

I've driven through downtown Louisville on Interstate 64 any number of times, but the only bridge across the Ohio River I've ever really noticed is the I-65 toll bridge. Not only have I not paid attention to the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, I'm not sure I knew it was even there.

Frightening Accident on Louisville's Clark Memorial Bridge

But on this first day of March, all eyes were on that bridge and a very dangerous situation that unfolded there. A little after 12 PM local time, a semi traveling north seemingly crossed the southbound lane and crashed through the rail.

The bridge was immediately shut down as emergency crews--Louisville firefighters, in particular--worked feverishly to get a ladder down to the cab to rescue the driver. A driver of one of the other two vehicles involved in the accident was transported to the hospital. After the scene had been cleared, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill addressed the media.

Even though the bridge is still closed as of this writing, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet still issued a warning to motorists to stay away from the area for the time being.

Louisville Courier-Journal Matt Stone captured the truck driver's rescue from another angle:

Here's yet another view from Fox News and The Post Millennial. Man, this is scary stuff:

Large Truck Traffic on the Clark Bridge Has Come Under Some Scrutiny Before

The Clark Memorial Bridge sees untold amounts of traffic daily; it's a more affordable option than the I-65 overpass. But big rig traffic on the bridge has been a source of controversy for a while now. "Beauknows2012" made the following comment on X, formerly known as Twitter:

And as far back as 2014, the board chairman of Greater Louisville Inc recommended a ban on large truck traffic on the bridge. Clearly, that never came to pass, but in light of today's events, maybe they'll take another look at it. In the meantime, we can be very thankful the truck driver was rescued and that a third party involved in the crash was unharmed. Obviously, we hope for the best regarding the motorist who was hospitalized.

Even though the bridge is still closed as of this writing, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has nonetheless issued a warning to motorists to stay away from the area for the time being.

[SOURCE: WAVE-Louisville]