Dangling over the side of a bridge, a driver in Kentucky was sure he was minutes from death. In a 911 call on Sunday morning, he told the dispatcher to give the recording of his voice to his family in case he didn't survive. "Why do I got to die tonight?" the driver continued, per the Louisville Courier Journal. "I'm just hanging over the bridge, I don't want to die." Looking at the scene, it's easy to understand his fear. The man had been driving a tractor trailer across Louisville's Kennedy Memorial Bridge when he lost control, triggering a jackknife.
The trailer ultimately remained on the bridge, but the truck cab was left hanging over the side. The driver noted he was scared even to move. For nearly 20 minutes, 911 dispatcher Martyna Wohner tried to assure the man a rescue was in the works. "They're going to get you out. You're going to be OK," she said. "Is it even possible? You don't know," the driver responded, per the Courier Journal. "He kept asking me, like, 'Should I jump out?' I was like, 'No.' He was just ready to get out of the truck. He was so scared," Wohner tells WDRB.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill described the rescue operation on a six-lane section of the 1-65 as "fundamentally dangerous." The department first stabilized the truck with chains before lowering a firefighter into the cab with ropes. The firefighter then fitted the driver into a harness so both could be hoisted out. Video of the rescue shows the driver was all smiles as he was pulled from the dangling cab. He then gave a thumbs up as he was lowered to the ground, about 30 minutes after first responders arrived on the scene. (More rescue stories.)
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