Driver rescued as truck ends up in Liffey after collision
Firefighters managed to rescue the driver through the window of the cab, which was submerged in the water after it collided with another truck at Butt Bridge near Tara Street just before 6am yesterday morning.
Butt Bridge, Tara Street, Burgh Quay and George’s Quay were all closed off to traffic while the truck remained in the water.
At around 1.30pm, the vehicle was successfully retrieved from the water. Traffic began to flow freely again after Dublin City Council staff laid sand at the site of the crash as a safety precaution. Both truck drivers escaped major injury. One driver was taken to the Mater Hospital and the other to St James’s Hospital where they were treated for shock.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said repair work would begin on the bridge once gardaí completed their examination of the crash site.
He said a bill for the damage would be sent to whoever was found to be at fault by gardaí. In December 2000, a Bus Éireann driver had a lucky escape when his vehicle crashed into the Liffey, also at Butt Bridge.
Five people were injured in that incident, including the driver of the bus who suffered a number of fractures.
A homeless man who helped rescue the driver later returned to the streets to sleep in his wet clothes.
The bus crash caused damage to the structure of the bridge that cost 30,000 to repair. Bus Éireann was charged for the work. A council spokesperson said it had a rolling list of the top 10 dangerous accident spots in the city.
He said those areas were assessed based on accidents that occurred over the three-year period. “Butt Bridge is not on that list at the moment. We have to find out the reasons behind this latest crash and that will inform us as to what we will do next,” he said.
If it turned out to be a clear accident spot or there was a genuine reason for concern it would have to be addressed by the council, he added.
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