Dramatic dash cam footage captured the moment a truck driver became suspended over the Ohio River.
Sydney Thomas, 26, was driving over the Clark Memorial Bridge in March when a pickup truck crashed into her, sending her careening over the side of the crossing..
Dash camera footage from the van was played in court Wednesday when the van’s driver, Trevor Branham, 33, appeared in court after being charged.
In the footage, the van is seen swerving out of its lane to avoid colliding with a car that had stopped, before crashing into Thomas.
Thomas frantically avoids the other cars on the bridge with his truck and then drives over the bridge railing, leaving it suspended over the Ohio River.
He spent about a half hour in the cab of his 18-wheeler as it hung over the nearly 100-year-old bridge that connects Louisville to southern Indiana.
He spent about a half hour in the cab of his 18-wheeler hanging over the nearly 100-year-old bridge.
The van can be seen swerving out of its lane to avoid hitting a car that had stopped, before crashing into Thomas.
Sydney Thomas had been driving over the Clark Memorial Bridge in March when a pickup truck crashed into her, sending her careening over the side of the crossing.
Branham was charged with four counts of wanton endangerment and one count of operating with a suspended license after the incident.
Witnesses told police the driver was speeding and weaving through traffic when he crashed into a stopped vehicle.
The arrest report says he then crossed into the opposite lanes, crashed into another car with two people inside and then crashed into the tractor-trailer.
In court this week, Deputy County Attorney Liem Sokhon used the new footage as evidence to make the case against Branham.
According WHAS11said: “This is the result, which manifests an extreme indifference to human life, which could result in serious physical injury or death.”
As Thomas dangled over the river, police intervened to arrest Branham, who was facing charges of driving with a suspended license in Indiana.
His attorney Scott Barton has argued for lesser charges, saying there were no serious injuries or deaths.
In court Wednesday, the judge presiding over the case decided to keep Branham’s bail at $20,000. A grand jury will review the case late next month.
Rescue crews had to make a daring rescue of Thomas after the incident, with Louisville firefighter Bryce Carden dangling from a crane toward her.
Carden was driven to the scene in an attempt to remove her seat belt, before securing her with a harness and then lifting her back up.
Carden went on to remember how the adrenaline didn’t kick in until he got the driver to safety.
The arrest report said the driver of the pickup truck “drove the vehicle under circumstances that manifested extreme indifference to the value of human life, placing himself and other drivers at risk of serious physical injury or death.”
Rescue crews had to make a daring rescue of Thomas after the incident, with Louisville firefighter Bryce Carden dangling from a crane toward her.
Carden was driven to the scene in an attempt to remove her seat belt, before securing her with a harness and then lifting her back up.
He recalled: ‘She was praying a lot and I prayed with her. We’ve done some crazy things, but this tops it all.
“Once I caught up with her, she was super calm and collected, and allowed us to do what we do.”
He went on to remember how the adrenaline didn’t kick in until he pulled the driver to safety, while surreal footage captured his heroics about 80 feet above the Ohio River.
“Right now, you don’t really think about it,” added Carden, a Jefferson County Public Schools graduate. ‘Your training takes over. Everything slows down and you concentrate on what needs to be done.’
