Dashcam Footage of Semi-Truck Driver Dangling off Bridge Released as Driver Shares Her Story
For nearly an hour, Sydney Thomas hung upside down above the Ohio River. She was buckled into her seat at the helm of her semi-truck. Thomas had been crossing the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge in Louisville when an oncoming pickup truck weaved over into her lane and hit her left front corner.
Thomas quickly attempted to control her rig, rapidly turning the wheel to the right to correct its path. Unfortunately, the semi-truck was so off-kilter from the impact that it crossed into opposing traffic before hitting the edge of the bridge.
The truck’s front end mounted the gate and went over. While millions watched and rescuers planned, Thomas spent the next forty minutes dangling in her seat with her foot on the brake.
“He was like, ‘Are you a praying woman?’ And we just started praying.”
This week, she allowed WHAS-TV to interview her. She shared the details of the events and her thoughts on the driver who caused the accident.
Her rescuer, firefighter Bryce Carden, appeared at her window. Rescuers had lowered a second, empty harness for Thomas. Carden had to cut Thomas’s seatbelt. He specifically chose not to open the left front door. Instead, he pulled Thomas through the semi-truck’s left front window.
Thomas was careful not to disrupt the process. “I knew I wouldn’t fall out of the harness,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t going to fall out, but it was terrifying to be that high up in the air and all you see is the Ohio River. It was hard, so I tried to keep my head up and not look down.”
Thomas is the mother of a five-year-old boy. Her father is a retired semi-truck driver. She explained to WHAS-TV that while she plans on returning to work on June 1, she won’t be driving the rig, at least for now.
At-fault driver was unlicensed, charged with endangerment
The 33-year-old pickup truck driver who hit Thomas was acting on a suspended license. He was allegedly weaving in and out of traffic ahead of the bridge crash. He now faces several counts of wanton endangerment plus the license charge.
Thomas expressed that she thinks the charges are fair but will try to move on from the driver’s error. “I can’t hold no hate in my heart. We all make mistakes and me holding a grudge or being angry for the rest of my life at him is going to do nothing for me.”
The semi-truck driver’s full interview with WHAS-TV is below.
