LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville emergency crews rappelled off the 2nd Street Bridge on Friday to rescue the driver of a semitruck that was dangling over the Ohio River, an operation the city's fire chief called a "once-in-a-career type of thing."

Louisville Metro Police said officers responded just after noon to the bridge on a crash involving a semitruck, a pickup truck and two passenger vehicles. The crash caused the semitruck to break through the western barrier of the bridge and partially dangle over the Ohio River.

A woman was stuck in the cab of the truck, hanging off the bridge over the river. Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill said she was "extremely lucky" the truck didn't fall into the river.

The fire department's rescue company was on scene by 12:06 p.m., O'Neill said, and quickly began setting up a rope system. Bryce Carden was the rescue member who rappelled down to get the woman to safety.

The bridge was closed in both directions just after noon on Friday.

"This is probably one of the nicest, happiest guys that you'll ever want to meet in your life," O'Neill said of Carden after the rescue. "And he is the exact right person to put down there to try to keep that patient calm and very cool and collected, to understand that she's in safe hands so that she doesn't panic and to know that you've got trained professionals helping out."

Carden was the point man on what he called a high-angle rescue.

"I was not nervous at all going over the edge because I knew they had me on the top side," Carden said. "Once I reached her, she was super calm, collected and helped me do what I need to do to get her to safety.

"She was just praying. She was praying a lot. And I prayed with her. So it was good."

Dramatic video, which you can watch in full below, shows Carden pulling the woman back up to safety. She was in the truck — dangling over the water — for at least 45 minutes.

The driver of the big rig was trapped in the cab for nearly 45 minutes before being rescued by members of the Louisville Fire Department. 

"These were some serious heroes here. This was some really professional, well-practiced, well-trained stuff," O'Neill said. "They've trained for this type of stuff. This is very much a worst-case scenario, kind of a crazy thing that you don't expect to actually have to do until you show up and you see it and you're like 'Oh my gosh, this is actually what we've talked about and here we're ready for it."

The driver of the semitruck, a Louisville resident, was taken to the hospital to make sure she was OK.

"She held it together like a champ, but, I will say the second she hit solid ground, she was able to let those emotions go and just have that relief. And it's a pretty impressive thing."

Two occupants of the passenger vehicles involved in the crash were taken to a local hospital with what LMPD calls "serious" and "life-threatening" injuries. 

"Please keep them, and their families, in your prayers this afternoon and evening," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a news conference Friday afternoon.

The semitruck belonged to Sysco, a wholesale restaurant distributor. In a written statement Friday afternoon, the company said it's "enormously grateful" to the rescue team and law enforcement.

The semi crashed through the barriers after a collision involving several vehicles.

"We are thankful our Sysco colleague is safe and are happy to report she has been discharged from the hospital," a company spokesman said. "From all of us at Sysco, we want to send our deepest thanks, respect and admiration to the first responders and everyone on the bridge who aided in the rescue. To call them heroes feels like an understatement. Special thanks to Firefighter Bryce Carden for his courage, skill and steely nerves!"

LMPD said it's unlikely the bridge will reopen before Saturday morning while the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet assesses the bridge to ensure it's safe for traffic again. KYTC's Deputy Highway Safety Engineer James Ballinger said the bridge — which was built in 1929 and sees abut 24,000 vehicles pass over it every day — was last inspected in September 2023 and found to be in "fair condition." But KYTC isn't able to begin their work until the truck is recovered, he said.

Ballinger said there's "no estimated time" for when the bridge will reopen. As of 9:30 p.m., the truck had been cleared from the bridge and engineers were investigating how much damage was done. It's unclear how long that process might take.

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