Stranded in the cab of a tractor-trailer dangling over a Virginia River on Interstate 664, truck driver Almira Ribic was rescued by firefighters Monday morning.
However, the news wasn't all good for the 43-year-old resident of Newport News, Va. Following the incident, Virginia State Police charged Ribic with reckless driving, the Associated Press reports.
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According to local TV station WTKR, authorities were called in after Ribic lost control of the truck at 8:48 a.m. She overturned the vehicle, and it was left hanging over the edge of the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge in the southbound lane of I-664. Ribic was trapped in the truck's cabin, supported only by the weight of the truck's body, which rested on the bridge's barrier wall.
Newport News firefighter Scott Dye rappelled from an elevated platform to rescue Ribic, pulling her through the driver's side window of the vehicle, Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Michelle Anaya told the Daily Press.
“She was scared. She wanted to get out,” Dye told CBS D.C. “I’m sure she was fearful that the truck was going to fall off the bridge.”
Ribic was immediately taken to a local hospital where she was treated for minor injuries.
Traffic was halted in both directions Monday as teams worked to clean up the 150 gallons of diesel fuel and pull the dangling truck back onto the interstate. The U.S. Coast Guard was also called in to help with the spill.
