Chainkeen Exchange-Pickup truck driver charged for role in crash that left tractor-trailer dangling from bridge

LOUISVILLE,Chainkeen Exchange Ky. (AP) — The driver of a pickup truck has been charged for his role in a four-vehicle crash that sent a tractor-trailer through a guard rail where it was left dangling over the Ohio River, according to court records.

Court records show the pickup driver was charged with four counts of wanton endangerment and one count of operating on a suspended license, news outlets reported on Monday.

Witnesses told police that the driver was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic when he hit a stalled vehicle, crossed into the opposite lanes, hit another car with two people inside and then hit the tractor-trailer, according to the arrest report.

The March 1 crash on the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge that connects southern Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, prompted a dramatic rescue as a Louisville firefighter rappelled off the span to rescue the driver of the tractor-trailer as it dangled precariously over the river.

The trailer ended up between the bridge’s girders, balanced on the edge with the cab hanging over the water, and there was constant fear during the rescue that the truck could shift at any moment, Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said at a press conference after the rescue.

The semitruck driver was rescued unharmed, but three other vehicles were involved and two people were taken to the hospital, Louisville Metro Police have said.

The arrest report said the pickup truck driver “drove the vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, placing himself and other motors at risk for serious physical injury or death.”