A Firefighter Rappelled Off a Bridge to Save a Trucker Dangling Over the Ohio River

On March 1, 2024, a chain-reaction crash on the Clark Memorial Bridge in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, sent a Sysco semi-truck careening over the edge. The truck's cab broke through the guardrail and ended up dangling nearly 100 feet above the Ohio River, held in place only by the trailer wedged against the bridge's structural beams. Inside the cab, 26-year-old driver Sydney Thomas was trapped, suspended over nothing but air and water.

Thomas, a military veteran making a routine delivery, was conscious but unable to free herself. Her seatbelt was the only thing keeping her from falling, but it also kept her pinned in the cab. She later described the moment as surreal - looking down and seeing only the river far below, knowing that any shift in the truck's weight could send it plummeting.

Louisville Fire arrived within minutes. The challenge was immediately clear: there was no way to reach the driver from the bridge deck. Someone would have to go over the edge. Bryce Carden, a 29-year-old firefighter with six years on the force and specialized training in high-angle rescue, volunteered for the job.

Anchored to a ladder truck by rope, Carden was lowered over the side of the bridge. He descended roughly 100 feet to reach the dangling cab, fighting wind and the constant risk that the truck could shift. When he reached Thomas, she was praying. Carden started praying with her as he worked to cut her seatbelt and secure a rescue harness around her body.

The operation took approximately 40 minutes from start to finish. About 30 rescuers assisted from the bridge above, carefully coordinating the hoist to bring both Carden and Thomas back up to safety. When they finally reached the bridge deck, Thomas was rushed to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She survived.

The entire rescue was broadcast live on national television, and the footage quickly went viral. Carden appeared on Good Morning America days later, where he described the rescue as the most intense moment of his career. Thomas later gave her own interviews, saying that hearing Carden's voice when he reached her was the moment she believed she would make it out alive.

The crash was caused by another vehicle that rear-ended Thomas's truck, triggering the chain reaction. That driver was later charged. The Clark Memorial Bridge, which connects Louisville to Jeffersonville, Indiana, was closed for hours during the rescue operation. The semi-truck was eventually recovered by crane.