Tonawanda News — One week after the last collision, another truck hit a CSX bridge Thursday — but this time, it wasn’t on Young Street.
Bruce A. Brockway, 59, of Chino Valley, Arizona, hit the bridge on Fillmore Avenue at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, according to police.
“He was coming off the Twin City Highway, and instead of making a right on Fillmore, he made a left,” Lt. Fredric Foels said.
Brockway proceeded down Fillmore and despite the multiple warning signs, crashed his 13-foot-high truck into the bridge, which is 11 feet, 6 inches high. The collision sheared off the top of the vehicle, completely destroying the truck.
Brockway told officers he had seen the signs, but believed his truck would fit under the bridge.
“Usually we get the drivers that said they didn’t see the signs,” Foels said. “But this guy saw all the signs.”
Officers issued Brockway two traffic summons for failing to obey the signs and violating a height limit restriction.
Brockway’s truck was empty, and he told officers he was driving for Werner Enterprises out of Omaha, Neb., where he has worked for 30 years.
“The officers felt bad for him ... he was so frustrated with himself that he did this,” Foels said.
He “couldn’t believe (he did) a dumb thing like that,” according to the police report.
Brockway told officers he had received awards for his safe driving over the 30 years with Werner, but was expecting the company to call and fire him.
Fillmore Avenue near the scene was closed until 11:15 a.m.
The crash comes after a truck barreled into the Young Street CSX bridge on Feb. 21. The Young Street bridge is notorious for the collisions, with 30 drivers crashing into the bridge over the last decade.
Last week’s incident was the first in six months. Now, with just two in one week, Foels said he’s worried the last two crashes have opened the floodgates again.
“Hopefully it’s not bad karma,” he said.
Contact reporter Jessica Bagley at 693-1000, ext. 4150
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