A motorist was rescued after taking a 45 foot fall while balancing on a bridge wall after a crash with a semi truck.
The accident and subsequent fall happened on Wednesday morning, October 22nd in Punta Gorda, Florida on Interstate 75 at the Peace River Bridge.
According to Gulf Coast News, a Jeep and a semi truck collided on the bridge, prompting the truck driver and motorist to pull over into the emergency lane. A passenger in the Jeep then attempted to walk over to the semi truck by balancing on the bridge wall, but fell. The man fell approximately 45 feet and landed on the ground below.
“At that point, we weren’t sure if they were in the water or if he had landed on the ground. So, units responded, as we normally do, for our response, and we did find the accident on the interstate,” said Charlotte County Fire and EMS Battalion Chief Tim Burke. “And there was one subject that was over the wall into mangroves and some mud on the ground level, but he was not in any water at that point.”
The man was injured in the fall, but emergency crews were able to rescue him and transport him to a nearby hospital.
“The tactic itself was basically to use an aerial device and create a high angle rescue point at high anchor point, and then we put rescuers on rope, and we lowered them down to the patient to be treated, packaged, and then hauled up over the wall of I-75,” said Burke.
The crash is still under investigation. No further information has been released.