Texas police have released body cam video of their extraordinary efforts to rescue a truck driver who crashed a tanker truck off of an overpass onto the roadway below.
The crash happened early on Thursday, August 29, in Lufkin, Texas.
Police say that 60 year old Texas-based truck driver Leslie Rodriguez veered off a 40 foot flyover, causing a crash that left the cab of his truck on southbound Loop 287 while the tanker came to a stop in the northbound lanes of U.S. 59.
When Officers Carter Willmon and Roger Ordaz arrived on the scene, they didn’t know what was inside the tanker and were worried it could explode. However, they also heard Rodriguez yelling for help and they decided that they had to get him out of the wreckage of his truck immediately.
The officers were able to pull Rodriguez from the cab and carry him to safety as he screamed in pain. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to be okay.
Lufkin police say they aren’t sure why Rodriguez veered off the flyover.
Rodriguez later told police that he was hauling orange juice.