Following a crash on Interstate 5 early Friday morning, the driver of a box truck was left dangling over the San Joaquin River.
The crash happened south of Lathrop just after 5 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
It is not clear what caused the truck to crash, but the tractor ended up going through the freeway fence and the cab was left hanging over the San Joaquin River.
Right away, first rescuers were able to stabilize the car so they could begin a vertical rescue.
One of the firefighters was lowered onto the cab of a ladder truck, according to the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District. After that, a harness was put on the driver, and they were brought back to the ground. It took less than 30 minutes to save the lives of the people.
Police say the driver was not hurt in the crash.
There was some diesel fuel that leaked into the river below, so an environmental cleanup group was sent to contain it.
Several southbound lanes of I-5 were backed up all morning. It wasn’t until just before noon that the lanes were clear.
Reference: I-5 crash near Lathrop leaves box truck cab hanging over San Joaquin River