ROGERS, Minn. — A good Samaritan helped pull a box truck driver from the water after the vehicle launched into the Crow River Monday evening near Rogers.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the 25-year-old driver was traveling northbound on Highway 101 around 3:30 p.m. when the truck went off the road, striking guard rails on both sides and then plummeting into the river. On the State Patrol website troopers said someone helped the driver out of the vehicle.
The driver was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries, according to state patrol.
Officials identified the good Samaritan as 46-year-old Christopher Kirk of Albertville, who told KARE 11 he was just a few vehicles behind the box truck when he saw it veer to the right, hit a sign and guardrail and then careen into the river.
"I didn't think he was making it," Kirk said. "It's like a 15 feet drop and I knew the river was right there, so I didn't know what I was going to see or what I was walking into."
After immediately calling 911, Kirk says he looked down the embankment and struggled to recognize the truck he had just witnessed leave the roadway.
"It looked like a bomb pretty much went off in it," he said.
After his eyes adjusted to all the wreckage, Kirk says he spotted the mangled cab. He says the driver was dangling over the back of a seat and partially submerged in the frigid river.
"He was stuck with his legs in the seatbelt, but with his head and shoulder in the water," Kirk said. "He was gasping for air with the river rushing against him."
Though he knew rescue teams were on the way, seconds were critical, so Kirk says he slid down the ditch and jumped in the water.
"I grabbed his shoulder, started pulling him out of the water, hit the seatbelt to unlock him and got him up on the flatbed," he said. "Both of us were soaked, so I said, 'Are you alright?' He said, 'Yeah, I'm good.' So I said, 'Well, we're soaked, we're wet, we're in the middle of a river right now. Let's get out of here.'"
First responders took it from there. The driver was taken to the hospital after reportedly complaining of minor injuries. Other crews spent hours fishing the truck from the river.
"It was Insane," Kirk said. "One of the craziest things I've seen... or been a part of."
But Kirk says he's glad he had a part to play, and after a short phone call with the driver on Tuesday, he knows the feeling is mutual.
"He was grateful," Kirk said. "But other than that I'm just letting him have his space and wish him the best with his health and everything."
The Minnesota State Patrol continues to investigate the crash, including what might have caused the truck to initially leave the road and strike the sign.
*This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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