Driver Lucky To Survive Tampa Truck Accident

A Tampa truck accident on June 14 sent a tractor-trailer off the side of the Alafia Bridge, seriously injuring its 29-year-old driver, according to the Tampa Bay Times. An eyewitness was traveling a few cars behind the truck on the bridge, when he noticed that the truck began to emit thick gray smoke before it quickly veered into a wall on the bridge, flinging over it and plummeting 45 feet.

The witness and Hillsborough County Sheriff Deputy Phillip Merkle rushed down the embankment to the truck driver. Another man who was fishing in the river assisted them, pulling his boat as close as he could to the truck to pull out the driver, who was miraculously able to walk on his own.

“He felt like the truck just came disconnected as he was driving,” the witness said. “The next thing I knew, he was in the marshland.”

The Florida Highway Patrol cited a “mechanical failure centering around the steering controls and the front axle” as the cause of this accident. It is a small miracle that more people were not injured.

Further information about truck accidents can be found on our website. Call our offices today at (800) 383-7853.