Beer Truck Crashes Over Guard Rail On I-93 Bridge
BOSTON (CBS) - It couldn't have been any closer to disaster. A beer truck smashing through the guard rail on I-93 North near Exit 28, the cab stopping just short of tumbling onto traffic below.
Dennis McCauley was traveling just beneath the scene on the Leverett connector. "As you drive by you see the hood of the car just dangling. Everyone's driving and you don't know if it's going to fall or what's going on," he said. A piece of guard rail came crashing down in front of him including tires and other debris. "It's that close, it's right above you, you really don't know what to do."
WBZ-TV's Beth Germano reports
The cab dangled three feet beyond the guard rail and somehow the driver and a passenger managed to get safely out of the front seat and onto the highway where they were walking around and talking when rescue crews arrived. "His first comment was that it's amazing what you can do when you're scared. He feared for his life, and it's a miracle he got out of there," said Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joe Finn.
It was a delicate operation to stabilize and move the truck, that's based at Anheuser-Busch in Medford. Fire crews climbed from a ladder below to cut the bumper and other parts to release it. For a time there was no way out of Boston as Friday afternoon traffic came to a standstill. "I've gone about 100 feet in an hour," according to one commuter stuck in traffic in Cambridge.
Ironically, the location is a mere five feet from where a Boston Globe delivery truck crashed over the guard rail on Monday. Witnesses today were surprised that lightning could strike twice. "It's like a movie," said McCauley. "You don't know if people are in there or not."
Two other vehicles were also struck, but there were no serious injuries. State police will investigate the cause of the accident, and whether the heavy rain may have been a factor.
