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Trucker Drives Off Bridge in Pennsylvania

March 25, 2004

A trucker reaching to answer his cell phone drove his rig off a bridge and plunged 60 feet into the Susquehanna River, state police said. The driver crawled out his submerged cab to safety.

CLARKS FERRY, Pa. (AP) -- A trucker reaching to answer his cell phone drove his rig off a bridge and plunged 60 feet into the Susquehanna River, state police said. The driver crawled out his submerged cab to safety.

A witness who had been driving behind the trucker Wednesday afternoon said he was stunned to find the man alive when he reached the river. ``I thought we'd be doing a body recovery,'' said Marty Hoffman, a volunteer firefighter.

Driver Darren Marceau, 25, of Cambridge, Ontario, was making his way up the river bank as witnesses climbed down to reach him.

Hoffman said the driver was bleeding, wet and somewhat dazed after the crash on U.S. Route 22, in south-central Pennsylvania. Marceau was in good condition at a hospital Wednesday night.

According to state police, Marceau drifted off the road as he tried to answer a cell phone call.

Investigators have not decided whether Marceau will be charged, Trooper Kristal Turner-Childs, a state police spokeswoman, said Thursday.