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Driver pulled from Lake Pontchartrain after vehicle goes over Causeway
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Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on May 31, 2014 at 3:20 PM, updated May 31, 2014 at 9:15 PM
A driver whose pickup truck went over the railing of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was rescued by several other motorists who stopped on the bridge to come to his aid Saturday afternoon. The pickup driven by a 26-year-old River Ridge man plunged into the lake from the southbound span a couple miles from the south shore, authorities said.
Another driver who happened upon the scene said he witnessed several people on the bridge and one good Samaritan jump into the lake to save the driver whose vehicle had gone over the side.
David Grunfeld, a photographer for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune was driving by at the time of the accident and witnessed a man being pulled out of the water.
"It was incredible,'' Grunfeld said of the scene and the calmness of the rescuers.
Grunfeld said he came upon the accident scene probably just minutes after it occurred. He said a man in a white t-shirt jumped from the bridge into the water to help the motorist whose vehicle had gone over the side. Several other people on the bridge, using a rope, then pulled both men back onto the bridge.
Tanner Brignac was one of those people. The 21-year-old Abita Springs resident was on his way to work when he witnessed the truck go flying over the side of the bridge.
"It was like a flash and then it was in the water. It all happened so fast, it was like half of a second," Brignac recalled.
Then, he said, groups of people -- including himself -- began running toward the scene of the crash, many carrying life vests and rope. Brignac said he witnessed a man -- fully dressed in a suit -- peel off some of his clothes and jump into the water.
"He just jumped in, like it was nothing."
Grunfeld said the rescue was one of the most extraordinary things he's ever witnessed.
"A lot of people stopped to help," Grunfeld said.
Causeway Samaritan
Tanner Brignac, who saw a truck go over the railing of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Saturday (May 31, 2014), took this picture of Alvin Pike, who jumped into the lake to help save the driver of the truck. Brignac was among several people who helped pull the driver of the truck and Pike back onto the bridge. (Photo courtesy of Tanner Brignac)
"It was a collaborative effort,'' he added. "Somebody had a rope and everybody started pulling.''
Grunfeld said the driver of the vehicle pulled from the water did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Nor did the man who jumped over the railing to help save him.
Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou said the one-vehicle accident happened about 3 p.m. The driver was treated by EMS on the scene, Dufrechou said, and transferred to an area hospital where he is being treated for cuts and bruises, and possibly a back injury.
According to the driver's recollection of the incident, Dufrechou said, he lost control of his truck when he reached over to grab his cell phone. Dufrechou said impairment is not considered to be a factor in the crash at the time. The man was the only occupant in the truck.
Dufrechou did not identify the driver of the truck.
The good Samaritan who jumped in after the man was identified as Alvin Pike, of Covington.
Reached later as he returned to his job as an operations manager for the Acme Oyster House restaurant in the French Quarter, Pike, 45, said he was on his way to work, driving behind the truck, when he saw it suddenly hit the left guardrail, careen to the right and go over the side of the bridge.
"It was pretty surreal, to tell you the truth," Pike said.
Pike said he got out of his car, waved for traffic to stop and looked into the water to see the fallen driver floating near his sinking truck. He doesn't have any rescue or lifeguard training, Pike said, but his first impulse was to jump after the driver.
"I didn't think," he said. "I just did it."
He said he thinks anyone would react the same way.
"By the grace of God, he had a life vest that he had in his car that he was hanging onto," Pike said about the other man in the water.
"He looked like he may be going into shock," Pike said. He had a small cut on his face.
"I asked him if there's anybody else in the vehicle," and he said there wasn't, Pike said.
Pike said he also asked the man if his back or neck hurt so he would avoid worsening any injuries. The man said no.
Pike used another life vest that someone had thrown down and a tied a rope dropped by another driver around the man's waist.
People who had gathered on the bridge pulled up both men using ropes. Pike credited the impromptu crew on the bridge with achieving the rescue.
"It was just a bunch of good luck coming together," he said.
In recent years, the southbound span has seen a handful of serious wrecks where vehicles have gone over the railing and into the lake below. The southbound span is older than the northbound span and its retaining walls are 25 inches high from the roadway, compared to the newer northbound span's 31 inches high.
According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation, the southbound lanes were closed Saturday (May 31) shortly after 3 p.m. due to the accident. All lanes were open shortly about 4 p.m.
Check back with NOLA.com |The Times-Picayune for updates.
Staff writer Mark Waller contributed to this report.
© 2014 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.
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Driver pulled from Lake Pontchartrain after vehicle goes over Causeway
Loading Photo Gallery
Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on May 31, 2014 at 3:20 PM, updated May 31, 2014 at 9:15 PM
A driver whose pickup truck went over the railing of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was rescued by several other motorists who stopped on the bridge to come to his aid Saturday afternoon. The pickup driven by a 26-year-old River Ridge man plunged into the lake from the southbound span a couple miles from the south shore, authorities said.
Another driver who happened upon the scene said he witnessed several people on the bridge and one good Samaritan jump into the lake to save the driver whose vehicle had gone over the side.
David Grunfeld, a photographer for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune was driving by at the time of the accident and witnessed a man being pulled out of the water.
"It was incredible,'' Grunfeld said of the scene and the calmness of the rescuers.
Grunfeld said he came upon the accident scene probably just minutes after it occurred. He said a man in a white t-shirt jumped from the bridge into the water to help the motorist whose vehicle had gone over the side. Several other people on the bridge, using a rope, then pulled both men back onto the bridge.
Tanner Brignac was one of those people. The 21-year-old Abita Springs resident was on his way to work when he witnessed the truck go flying over the side of the bridge.
"It was like a flash and then it was in the water. It all happened so fast, it was like half of a second," Brignac recalled.
Then, he said, groups of people -- including himself -- began running toward the scene of the crash, many carrying life vests and rope. Brignac said he witnessed a man -- fully dressed in a suit -- peel off some of his clothes and jump into the water.
"He just jumped in, like it was nothing."
Grunfeld said the rescue was one of the most extraordinary things he's ever witnessed.
"A lot of people stopped to help," Grunfeld said.
Causeway Samaritan
Tanner Brignac, who saw a truck go over the railing of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Saturday (May 31, 2014), took this picture of Alvin Pike, who jumped into the lake to help save the driver of the truck. Brignac was among several people who helped pull the driver of the truck and Pike back onto the bridge. (Photo courtesy of Tanner Brignac)
"It was a collaborative effort,'' he added. "Somebody had a rope and everybody started pulling.''
Grunfeld said the driver of the vehicle pulled from the water did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Nor did the man who jumped over the railing to help save him.
Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou said the one-vehicle accident happened about 3 p.m. The driver was treated by EMS on the scene, Dufrechou said, and transferred to an area hospital where he is being treated for cuts and bruises, and possibly a back injury.
According to the driver's recollection of the incident, Dufrechou said, he lost control of his truck when he reached over to grab his cell phone. Dufrechou said impairment is not considered to be a factor in the crash at the time. The man was the only occupant in the truck.
Dufrechou did not identify the driver of the truck.
The good Samaritan who jumped in after the man was identified as Alvin Pike, of Covington.
Reached later as he returned to his job as an operations manager for the Acme Oyster House restaurant in the French Quarter, Pike, 45, said he was on his way to work, driving behind the truck, when he saw it suddenly hit the left guardrail, careen to the right and go over the side of the bridge.
"It was pretty surreal, to tell you the truth," Pike said.
Pike said he got out of his car, waved for traffic to stop and looked into the water to see the fallen driver floating near his sinking truck. He doesn't have any rescue or lifeguard training, Pike said, but his first impulse was to jump after the driver.
"I didn't think," he said. "I just did it."
He said he thinks anyone would react the same way.
"By the grace of God, he had a life vest that he had in his car that he was hanging onto," Pike said about the other man in the water.
"He looked like he may be going into shock," Pike said. He had a small cut on his face.
"I asked him if there's anybody else in the vehicle," and he said there wasn't, Pike said.
Pike said he also asked the man if his back or neck hurt so he would avoid worsening any injuries. The man said no.
Pike used another life vest that someone had thrown down and a tied a rope dropped by another driver around the man's waist.
People who had gathered on the bridge pulled up both men using ropes. Pike credited the impromptu crew on the bridge with achieving the rescue.
"It was just a bunch of good luck coming together," he said.
In recent years, the southbound span has seen a handful of serious wrecks where vehicles have gone over the railing and into the lake below. The southbound span is older than the northbound span and its retaining walls are 25 inches high from the roadway, compared to the newer northbound span's 31 inches high.
According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation, the southbound lanes were closed Saturday (May 31) shortly after 3 p.m. due to the accident. All lanes were open shortly about 4 p.m.
Check back with NOLA.com |The Times-Picayune for updates.
Staff writer Mark Waller contributed to this report.
© 2014 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.