Dramatic moment firefighters rescue truck driver from dangling cab after it was left hanging over busy Florida highway
This is the dramatic moment firefighters saved the life of a truck driver trapped in a wreck dangling from an overpass over a busy Florida highway.
The rescue was so dramatic that it resulted in two other accidents in the area due to “distracted drivers taking cell phone video of the incident,” the Palm Beach County Fire Department said in a statement.
Fire officials said the 18-wheeler nearly went over the side of the overpass in Palm Beach Gardens on the edge of West Palm Beach around 8 a.m. Saturday due to heavy rain in the area.
Hero rescuers first secured the platform and then used a ladder to reach the stricken driver. He was rescued and taken to safety within an hour of the incident. The driver was able to walk to the ambulance independently.
Firefighters were called to the scene around 8:15 a.m. Saturday in the West Palm Beach suburb of Palm Beach Gardens.
According to a statement from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, the entire rescue operation took approximately 45 minutes
Rescuers began securing the rig and then worked to secure the driver and get him to safety
Shortly after being freed from the cab, the driver can be seen thanking the heavens
The driver was taken by firefighters to a nearby hospital, where he was later released and spent the holidays with his family
In the video, the driver “thanks the heavens for his safe rescue from this precarious situation,” the statement said. It also said he was “very lucky to be alive.”
The man was rushed to a local hospital but was back with his family over the holidays.
The truck was transporting scrap metal, police said WPTV. The driver was the only person involved in the crash, which caused traffic to back up along the northbound lane of the Beeline Highway.