Tractor-Trailer Hangs Off Bridge

Coast Guard, local agencies respond to tractor-trailer accident on Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard and local agencies are responding to a tractor-trailer accident on the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge on Monday morning.

Suffolk emergency dispatch notified the Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads command center of the accident at approximately 9 a.m., reporting a truck was hanging off the side of the southbound bridge span with a person still in the cab.

Sector Hampton Roads dispatched crews aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Portsmouth, along with a 25-foot Response Boat - Small from Coast Guard Station Portsmouth and an incident management crew from Sector Hampton Roads to assist.

Newport News Fire Department, the Virginia Marine Police, Virginia State Police, Portsmouth Police Department and Suffolk Police and Fire Departments also responded with boats and bridge highway crews.

Fire department personnel rescued the driver and transferred her to local EMS.

"This incident highlights the excellent and immediate response by multiple agencies," said Capt. John Little, the commander of Sector Hampton Roads. "It is the result of partnerships and joint training conducted within the Hampton Roads emergency response community."

The Coast Guard established a safety zone in the James River with a radius of 1,000 yards from the accident to assist in responder safety.  No commercial vessel traffic restrictions were imposed in the Newport News channel.

The Virginia State Police, local area responders, Sector Hampton Roads pollution responders and local oil spill response organizations remain on scene.