Good Samaritan Rescues Florida Woman from River After She Crashed off Bridge

A good Samaritan helped rescue a 20-year-old woman after she crashed off a Florida bridge early Tuesday morning and plunged into the St. Johns River.

In its report, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) stated that at approximately 1:00 a.m., the St. Augustine woman was driving on the wrong side of I-295 on the Buckman Bridge in Jacksonville, according to WJXT.

“Troopers said it appears the woman crossed over from the northbound lanes through a gap in the median used by emergency vehicles, and then into the southbound lanes,” the outlet reported.

Authorities said she crashed through a guardrail and landed in the river. As the victim’s vehicle landed in waist-deep water, a good Samaritan was able to rescue her, FHP Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan told WJXT.

“He exited his vehicle and waded out into the water in a shallow area of water, waded out and assisted her from her vehicle and brought her back to land,” Bryan explained.

The woman, who was wearing her seatbelt during the crash, escaped with minor injuries, the outlet reported. 

Crews cleaned up the crash scene by 5:oo a.m., per WLTV.

The FHP is investigating the accident, but no charges were filed, and no one was ticketed as of Tuesday, according to WJXT. Breitbart News has reached out to the FHP regarding new developments in terms of charges or tickets and awaits a response. 

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) conducted a five-year safety study of the Buckman Bridge, which finished in 2015, WLTV reported. It was determined the bridge’s rails met state and federal crash-worthiness standards. “No research suggests raising the railing would eliminate the chance of someone going off the side of the bridge,” WLTV said.

Two motorists fatally crashed off the bridge in the years when FDOT carried out the safety study, according to the outlet

Charlene Birchell resides in a neighborhood near the bridge and told WJAX her safety concerns stem from drivers.

“Follow the rules of the road. Try not to cut people off. When it says go 50, try to go less than 80,” Birchell said.

She added that Tuesday’s incident was not surprising to her.

“Honestly I’ve been kind of waiting for it to happen. I am glad that she was okay,” Birchell told WJAX.