Long Grove, IL bridge hit 42nd time since rebuild, Lake County Sheriff's Office says

Covered bridge in Long Grove, Illinois previously reinforced with steel

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Long Grove crash: Historic bridge hit 42nd time since rebuild
The Long Grove bridge was hit again. The structure has been struck 42 times since its rebuild, the Lake County Sheriff's Office says.

LONG GROVE, Ill. (WLS) -- It just keeps happening: Another truck hit the covered bridge in north suburban Long Grove Monday, a Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the bridge about 2:15 p.m. for a report of a truck that hit the top of the structure, police said.

Deputies found an 11-foot U-Haul box truck wedged under the bridge.

The truck's driver, Hui Xu, 58, of Morton Grove was traveling west on Robert Parker Coffin Road, and disregarded the signs telling him not to drive across the bridge, police said.

READ MORE | Historic Long Grove bridge badly damaged by truck is 'punch to the gut'

The bridge remained blocked about an hour while he deflated the tires to get the truck out.

There does not appear to be structural damage, however the village is having its structural engineer respond to ensure that is the case, police said.

Xu was cited for disobeying a traffic control device and will appear in branch court.

The bridge was also hit last Monday, causing some cosmetic damage.

The bridge has been hit 42 times since getting steel installed to reinforce the structure, the sheriff's office said.