Driver makes it safely across fast-moving river after watery crash
A truck driver is alive and well after making it out of their partially submerged semi truck in Oregon on Monday morning.
The accident happened at around 7:20 a.m. south of Detroit, Oregon.
According to the Salem Statesman Journal, the semi truck hauling double trailers was traveling along Highway 22 near mile marker 71 when it left the roadway and crashed into the Santiam River.
Thankfully, the truck driver was able to climb out of the cab on their own, and made it safely across the swift-moving river with the help of firefighters, a few bystanders, and some rope.
The unnamed driver was then transported to a nearby hospital for minor injuries.
The trailers were empty at the time of the crash, and there are no reports of fuel leaking into the river. Highway 22 was not shut down as crews worked to recover the rig, but Oregon Department of Transportation spokeswoman Angelia Beers-Seyel warned that “it does typically take a while to pull a truck of this size out of the river.”