A tractor-trailer driver is dead after a fiery incident on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Maryland, according to reports.
WUSA9 reported that four others were rescued after a multi-vehicle crash in which a tractor-trailer lost control and struck highway construction vehicles.
The bridge maintenance crew was examining the bridge and used a boom truck that was parked on the left shoulder of the northbound main lanes. The big articulating boom was holding a basket with three workers in it. The workers were right underneath the bridge when the tractor trailer slammed into the truck they were connected to.
Police said some crew members were over the side of the bridge in the aerial platform and a fourth was in the truck operating the boom. In the event of a crash, officials said a ‘crash attenuator truck’ was positioned to help protect the boom truck and its occupants.
That is when police said an empty northbound tractor-trailer lost control and struck the crash attenuator truck, pushing it into the boom truck. Three workers were in the basket when the truck crashed into their vehicle. The workers were trapped under the bridge while both vehicles caught fire above them.
Read the full report HERE and more from the Washington Post HERE.
At today’s incident on the Wilson Bridge #DcsBravest Hazmat Unit played a role by helping to pump diesel fuel from the saddle tanks of one of the involved trucks. @PGFDPIO pic.twitter.com/Z6Nl4umTFf
– DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) June 20, 2018
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Our Marine Unit was patrolling the Potomac when they heard a boom and saw an explosion on the nearby Wilson Bridge today. The officers rushed to help, positioning themselves to help rescue bridge workers who were lowered to safety. pic.twitter.com/GqGgJCwx6Z
– PGPDNEWS (@PGPDNews) June 20, 2018
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DC area friends – avoid the Wilson Bridge pic.twitter.com/yeyZtVyWUC
– Coach Gator (@TheCoachGator) June 20, 2018
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