Stunning dashcam video shows the moment a pickup truck crashed on the Arlington Memorial Bridge and swerved across all lanes of traffic during Thursday evening’s rush hour. The truck plunged into the icy Potomac River, leaving one person with fatal injuries after being fully submerged.
The white pickup truck’s driver was headed out of Arlington, Virginia, and toward Washington, D.C., at about 7 p.m. when the driver crashed into another vehicle, lost control and veered across all lanes of traffic.
Video shows the driver slam into the bridge’s stone railings. News4 paused the video at that moment of impact.
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Witnesses can be seen running across traffic to try to help.
D.C. Fire and EMS, the Metropolitan Police Department Harbor Unit and first responders from multiple other jurisdictions rushed to the scene. Divers jumped into the freezing river.
One person was pulled from the river and received "advanced life support" on the shore, D.C. Fire and EMS said. That person was taken to a hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries.
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U.S. Park Police confirmed Friday that one person died.
Two people in another vehicle were treated for minor injuries.
“The divers have equipment for conditions like this,” D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said. “It’s hard work; it’s very dangerous work. So not only are they dealing with cold weather. They’re dealing with the current; they’re dealing with limited access. They’ve all been through rehab. There’s no other injuries to report to any of the responders. But it really is a complicated effort.”
Searches around the sunken pickup found no other victims in the river.
It wasn't immediately clear why the pickup driver crashed.
Traffic came to a stop on the bridge, which was closed for hours as U.S. Park Police diverted traffic. Drivers were asked to avoid the Arlington Memorial Bridge, Rock Creek Parkway and Ohio Drive.
The bridge was back open to traffic early Friday. Officers were posted at the gaping hole in the stone railing and metal barricades were in place.
A gaping hole remained in the stone railing early Friday. The pickup was still submerged.
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