LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- From structural collapses to plant explosions, 2024 was a busy year for the Louisville Fire Department.

However, no moment better highlighted the range of the firefighters' work than when a semi was dangling over the Second Street Bridge.

Sydney Thomas, 26, came face-to-face with death on March 1, 2024. That's when she was trapped inside the cab of a Sysco semitruck as it was hanging off the Second Street Bridge after a crash involving several vehicles caused by a reckless driver.

Dashcam image showing Sydney Thomas in Sysco semi cab

FILE -- Pictured: this still image taken from dashcam video shows Sydney Thomas as she attempts to control the Sysco tractor-trailer she was driving before it nearly plunged from the side of the Second Street Bridge in Louisville, Ky., on March 1, 2024. (WDRB/archive)

"We're like 'oh, this is the real deal,'" firefighter Bryce Carden said. "This is go time."

Firefighters used a rope to lower Carden from the bridge deck to the semi cab to rescue Thomas. He then used a pocket knife to free her from her seatbelt and then lifted her to safety.

"I know how to lock-in," Carden said. "I knew my team had me on the topside."

Carden has spent seven years with the Louisville Fire Department. On Saturday, he received four awards for his bravery, including Firefighter of the Year and a Medal of Valor, at the Louisville Fire Department's banquet.

While Carden said he had a "good night" at the ceremony, he doesn't consider himself a hero.

"We go out and put our lives on the line for the people of Louisville, and we'd do it any day of the week," Carden said.

However, some of the other firefighters who responded to the bridge rescue disagree.

"To know that she wasn't going to fall because he's holding on to her like a bear hug, that was heroic," Captain Chad Rodgers said. "The thing is, we would all do that, but he actually did it. Bryce is the hero. He looked like Spider-Man out there."

That daring rescue also changed how LFD trains its recruits on rope skills and prepares them for structural collapses.

"We've allowed ourselves to be able to pass that along a little bit more," Rodgers said. "We needed all the people that were there, even if they weren't rescue techs, to at least have a rough idea of what to do."

Though WDRB wasn't able to reach Thomas to check-in on how she's doing, the firefighters who helped save her life have a message for her.

Sysco driver Sydney Thomas meets Louisville firefighters who rescued her

Sydney Thomas, the Sysco semitruck driver rescued from the 2nd Street Bridge accident on March 1, 2024, meets the Louisville firefighters who brought her back up to safety.

"I'm happy for her," Rodgers said. "I'd tell her to keep driving because if we're showing up, it's going to be just fine."

As of June 2024, Thomas's mother, Torrie Carver, was still taking care of her son, Mason. Carver had said recovery had not been easy for Thomas, a military veteran and young mother.

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