Shocking Video Shows Mail Truck Plunge Off Bridge

Massachusetts driver was uninjured
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 28, 2022 1:50 PM CST

The driver of a mail truck in Massachusetts survived a plunge off a bridge uninjured—an outcome that may have seemed unlikely to anybody who witnessed the incident. Shocking video shared by the State Police Association of Massachusetts shows the Saturday crash in Weston, around 15 miles from Boston. Police say the truck fell around 50 feet after it came off the bridge over the Charles River, near the ramp from Interstate 95 to Interstate 90, NBC Boston reports. Rescuers found the driver—who does not know how to swim—standing on top of the partially submerged truck. He was taken to a Boston hospital for evaluation but no injuries were reported.

Local firefighters say they were able to respond quickly because they were already in the area clearing snow from hydrants. "We were able to make an effective rescue," says Weston Deputy Fire Chief Justin Woodside. "Our two members went in with suits and we got him and it took about maybe four minutes or so upon arrival." Authorities haven't said why the truck veered off the road, WCVB reports. It's not clear whether the driver is a US Postal Service employee or a contract worker. The crash spilled hundreds of packages into the river, though firefighters managed to retrieve many of them.

"While they had the boat in the water, they were scooping up as much mail as they could,” Weston Fire Chief David Soar tells the Boston Globe. "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." He says removing the truck from the river took hours because crews were working to make sure the trailer didn't break and spill the remaining packages in the river. (More Massachusetts stories.)

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