Driver Rescued From Truck Dangling From Virginia Bridge
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WJZ)—When you see the pictures, you'll understand why a trucker in Virginia was praying for her life.
Mike Schuh shows us what it looked like near Hampton Roads.
Almira Ribic, the driver of the truck, escaped to America after surviving war in Bosnia, and for a frightening few hours she thought she'd die here.
She was belted in, but her truck could be seen teetering and ready to flip into the drink.
She said she thought "Please God, whatever happens to me, that will be fine, but please take care of my family."
She said she thought about jumping in but feared her shifting weight would topple the rig into the water.
"You just take what you're dealt with and you just make the best out of it," a rescue worker said.
With the Coast Guard below, the fire department showed up, tried to secure the trailer and then went to secure Ribic with first a life jacket, then a rope. Once free of the truck, it could fall and she was safely in the arms of this rescuer.
"I don't particularly think it was heroic. It's what we do. The fire department that is what we train for. It was my time on that particular day to be in that particular place," a rescue worker said.
Ribic has been a truck driver for six years. She said her brakes grabbed and she doesn't know what happened.
Ribic was treated and released for bumps and bruises.
She was charged with reckless driving.
