Crash leaves tractor-trailer dangling off New York City expressway
NEW YORK -- All lanes have reopened after an accident on the Cross Bronx Expressway left a tractor-trailer precariously hanging over the Sheridan Parkway in New York City Monday.
The crash happened in the westbound lanes just after noon and reportedly involved multiple cars.
The driver -- 55-year-old Pablo Lopez -- was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital with serious but non life-threatening injuries. He received seven metal staples in his head, but officials say he is very, very lucky.
"He climbed down onto the Sheridan Expressway from his cab," FDNY Chief Vincent Mosca said. "From the dangling cab, he climbed down onto the Sheridan and walked to the side. We're lucky that the truck wasn't carrying any cargo in it, so it wasn't as heavy as it could have been. So that might have also helped from it completely flipping down onto the Sheridan."
Lopez said he was on his way back to New Jersey from Connecticut after dropping off a truckload of tomatoes when a black car cut in front of him and struck the front of his cab. He lost control, and he said he did everything in his power to prevent the accident from being much, much worse.
"I feel OK," he said. "A little pain in the neck, but this is normal."
"I was in the middle of the highway heading towards the bridge and all of a sudden, a black car's wheel got very close to my front wheel. The car got caught in my front wheel. I had no other option than to try to stop by the bridge and then truck was halfway off the bridge, hanging over and the other part was on the bridge," Lopez said.
Police, the FDNY and road crews worked for hours to secure the overturned tractor-trailer. The trailer was uprighted around 3:30 p.m., but the cab remained dangling over the roadway. A tow truck pulled it back up to the Cross Bronx by around 4:30, but debris littered the ground on the Sheridan.
The crash created a traffic nightmare, with all lanes closed hours after the accident. Eastbound lanes reopened after about five hours, while westbound lanes remained shut down until just before 6 p.m.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
