Car Breaks Through Side of Sayres Covered Bridge
Thetford, Vt. 11-26-02 - Monday morning a car went through the side of the Sayres Bridge when the driver lost control. The vehicle landed in the water upside down, submerging the occupants, two 11-year-old boys and a woman, in the Oompompanusuc River.
The boys got out of the car alright, but the woman, tangled in her seatbelt, was extracted by two passers by and successfully resuscitated on the upturned bottom of the car.
The driver blamed new "treadways" (running planks) for the accident. The town had recently widened the treadways and added asphalt ramps at the bridge portals to allow cars to enter the bridge smoothly.
Another driver had complained that she had lost control in the bridge a week earlier, complaining that the ramps were too high. Residents say that the bridge was not considered dangerous prior to the change in the treadways.
The driver of the car that entered the river claimed that she had not been speeding. Her rescuers, who were driving behind her, verified her claim.
For details on this story, go to the Valley News website, www.vnews.com, and check out news posted on 11/27 and 11/28.
Photo by Joe Nelson 12/13/02
