Police say ‘language barrier’ may be to blame after truck strikes low bridge

New York police say that a box truck driver has been ticketed after crashing into a low clearance railroad bridge earlier this week.

The bridge strike occurred just before 3:30 p.m. on Monday, October 21, in Salina, New York.

The box truck driven by 54 year old Ohio-based driver Adnan M. Rawahneh struck a Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge marked at ten feet, nine inches.

No injuries were reported.

According to a police report obtained by local news outlet LocalSyr.com, the cause of the crash is believed to be a combination of Rawahneh’s lack of familiarity with the area and his limited understanding of English as he primarily speaks Arabic.Police say that they had to use Rawahneh’s boss via telephone as a translator to get his account of the crash.

Rawahneh reportedly told police that he “did not realize nor notice” signage warning about the low bridge.

A motorist following the truck caught the incident on camera.

Rawahneh was ticketed for failure to obey a traffic control device.

The New York Department of Transportation said that the bridge did not suffer structural damage during the crash.

Though New York spends about $25 million per year to prevent bridge strikes on parkways, the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge is still struck by one to two trucks per year.