A stunning video shows a tractor-trailer carrying mail for the U.S. Postal Service flying off a bridge in Massachusetts into the icy Charles River 50 feet below. The driver survived and was not injured, police said. The video was released by the State Police Association of Massachusetts in February 2022. You can watch the video above.
The incident happened in Weston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, February 26, 2022, according to the state police and the Weston Fire Department. The crash occurred just before noon near the ramp from Interstate 95 to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), according to police. The driver was rescued and he was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for evaluation but was not injured, the State Police said. Further details about what caused the crash remain under investigation, according to police.
The video of the terrifying crash shows the truck barreling through a guardrail and flying off of the highway, sending snow and debris down into the Charles River with the truck. The video shows the tractor-trailer slamming onto its side before twisting back upright. Mail and packages could be seen strewn in the river after the crash. Police said the bridge is about 50 feet above the river.
The Truck Driver Escaped From the Cab Before It Was Fully Submerged & Waited on Top of the Trailer for Rescuers to Arrive, Officials Said
According to a tweet from the Massachusetts State Police, “Just before noon we at responded, w/ @WESTON_FIRE to a tractor trailer off the road and down long embankment into water, near ramp from Rt 95 to Pike. Driver, who cannot swim, was standing atop truck. Weston Firefighters safely brought the driver to land. No injuries reported.”
Weston Fire Department Deputy Chief Justin Woodside told NBC Boston there were firefighters already in the area shoveling out fire hydrants after Friday’s snowstorm, so they were able to quickly respond. “We were able to make an effective rescue,” Woodside told the news station. “Our two members went in with suits and we got him and it took about maybe four minutes or so upon arrival.”
The road near the crash was closed for several hours, police said. The fire department tweeted on Sunday, February 27,, “More photos of yesterday’s TT incident these photos show where the driver was standing on our arrival of our remarkably he was able to get out of the cab on his own before it sunk the second photo is of our crews removing him to shore through the water great work by all involved!”
Postal Inspectors Responded to the Scene of the Crash, Authorities Said
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. “UPDATE The operator of the TT has been transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for evaluation. The TT Unit was carrying US mail. US Postal Inspectors have been notified,” the State Police tweeted. Authorities did not say if the truck is owned by the USPS or if it is operated by a contrator.
NBC Boston reported, “Weston’s deputy fire chief said the postal inspector would take care of all the packages that crews couldn’t recover from the river. Heavy duty tows were called to the scene to help remove the truck from the water, which broke in half as it was being pulled out, spilling more packages into the river. Video showed the vehicle rigged to a crane on the highway ramp, and it remained an active scene late Saturday as crews worked to clean up the mess.”
Weston Fire Chief David Soar told the Boston Globe, “We had a boat in the water, we were helping the recovery team hook up parts of the truck [to tow it out of the water] so while they had the boat in the water, they were scooping up as much mail as they could. We got most of it out of the water. Some of it probably sunk, but they got a lot of mail out of the water.”
Soar said there were “hundreds” of packages in the river, according to the Globe. The Postal Service said in a statement to the newspaper, “The disposition of any mail on board will be determined by Postal Inspectors once their investigation is completed.”