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| December 10, 2007 |
| Tractor-trailer plunges into Kanawha river; 1 rescued; 1 killed: Charleston |
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One man died and another was in critical condition Monday night after their tractor-trailer plunged over the side of the Interstate 64 bridge near Fort Hill in Charleston and into the Kanawha River early Monday.
Husen M. Awad and Phillip Chaizo, both of Columbus, Ohio, were in the Kanawha River about 25 minutes before rescuers pulled them out, said Charleston Police Sgt. Shawn Williams. Awad later died at CAMC General Hospital. Chaizo was listed in critical condition late Monday. The west-bound lanes of MacCorkle Avenue were expected to be closed through this morning while crews pulled the rig out of the water and cleared debris. The east-bound lanes were reopened Monday evening, according to a Kanawha County 911 dispatcher. Charleston firefighters used boats and scuba gear to reach the victims. They performed CPR on the driver and both were ferried upriver toward CAMC’s General Hospital. Chaizo, who police believe was driving the vehicle, was submerged in the water when he was found. Awad was in the sleeping compartment and had air to breathe, Williams said. When rescuers reached him, his head was above the water and he was conscious and talking. “The water was cold, the water was swift — very murky,” said Charleston Fire Lt. Mark Strickland, one of the rescuers. Charleston Police Cpl. M.L. Null was the first on the scene and immediately ran down the brush-covered riverbank and dived in, attempting to reach the tractor-trailer. He was soon swept up in the Kanawha’s fast moving current and pulled downstream. Null said he couldn’t see inside the cabin because of the fog hanging low on the cold river. “In a minute I was numb,” he said. The cab was separated from the truck trailer, and both were nearly submerged in shallow water near the MacCorkle Avenue side of the river. Williams said weather likely played a part in the crash. The road was slick with rain and obscured by fog when the accident happened around 9:30 a.m. “Looks like they just lost control at some point coming across the bridge,” Williams said. The truck was eastbound when the accident occurred. The truck went over the bridge near the Virginia Street entrance ramp, which also carries traffic exiting from Corridor G. After the accident, police called for a state bridge engineer to check on the structural integrity of the bridge. The bridge is structurally sound and was not affected by the accident, other than broken concrete along the edge, Williams said. The truck slid along the side of the road before tipping over the edge, he said. Speed, not the design of the bridge, was the main cause of the accident, Williams said. “If they were driving at or below the speed limit this crash would never have happened,” he said. This incident occured in Kanawha County.  
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Story by: James I. Davison Source: The Charleston Gazette |
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