FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - The wife of a box truck driver who plunged into the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire Wednesday morning as part of a multi-vehicle crash spoke with 7NEWS Thursday, saying she is grateful her husband is alive.
New Hampshire State Police said troopers responded to a report of a crash involving a 30-foot box truck that broke through the guardrail on a bridge and fell into the Merrimack River on I-293 northbound Wednesday morning. Their preliminary investigation determined that up to seven vehicles were involved in a series of at least two chain-reaction crashes.
Dylan Rodriguez, 26, of Fall River, Massachusetts, lost control of the box truck while driving on the bridge, broke the guardrail, and plunged at least 50 feet into the river, state police said. The Manchester Fire Department said the truck landed upright, and Rodriguez was able to get himself out from underwater and climb onto the roof through the truck’s broken windshield. He was not seriously hurt.
Eleven others were also hurt in the incident, state police said.
Rodriguez’s wife Lexi spoke with 7NEWS, and said she’s still trying to process the situation.
“What I know so far is that he reacted quickly, took the seatbelt off before it locked and he was able to get out, and that’s when the first responders got on the boat to go grab him,” she said. “Still a lot of anxiety, a lot of shock. Just hard to cope that this happened to him.”
She also wanted to express her thanks to all of the first responders that helped bring her husband to safety.
“Huge thank you to that paramedic who called me, notified me right away. We live in Fall River, and that was all the way in New Hampshire so I got there as quick as I could. So a huge thank you to whoever that was,” she said.
She said she is well-aware her husband and the father of her two young children is extremely lucky he survived.
“It makes me feel thankful that he’s alive again. Nobody expects for this to happen, you know, life can change from a moment to another,” she said.
The crash remains under investigation by New Hampshire State Police.
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