INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis and Lawrence firefighters performed a dramatic rescue on the far east side early Saturday morning, working to free a man trapped in a truck after it went over a bridge guardrail and nearly fell into a creek below.
Rescue crews worked for nearly two hours to free the driver who was trapped inside the truck.
According to IFD, the pickup truck was heading north when it crashed into a guardrail of the Mitthoeffer Road bridge over Chime Run north of East 42nd Street just before 1:30 a.m. The Dodge Ram truck rolled and landed on a bridge abutment, suspended on its side above the creek.
A 74-year-old passenger was able to get out of the truck with the help of firefighters. He was taken to Eskenazi Hospital and listed as stable Saturday morning.
But the 62-year-old driver was still trapped inside - pinned below the truck's dashboard. Medics and a doctor tended to him while rescue crews carefully repositioned the truck on the bridge 12 feet above the creek.
A tow truck and rope rescue team were called to lift the truck so firefighters could get to the driver. He was eventually pulled out and airlifted to IU Health-Methodist Hospital in critical condition.
Authorities have not shared the name of the driver or his passenger.
Further complicating the rescue effort was a leaking fuel tank on the pickup. The gas tank started to leak when the truck was lifted by the wrecker.
The Marion County Health Department responded to address fuel that drained into the creek.