LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The 911 operator who helped calm a panicked semitruck driver trapped in his cab as it dangled over the Kennedy bridge Sunday morning said it was a day like any other -- until she answered the call from the driver.
For roughly 18 minutes, Martyna Wohner was the only line of communication for the trapped driver to the outside world. She answered the call with her usual, 'Hello, this is 911.'
That's when the voice on the other end said: "can you guys please help me? I'm about to... I'm about to fall down off from the bridge."
"I wasn't expecting to get the driver," Wohner said. Despite her surprise, Wohner, a 911 call taker for 3-and-a-half years, became the calm voice in the midst of chaos.
"He kept asking me, like, 'Should I jump out?' And I was like, 'No.' He was just ready to get out of the truck. He was so scared."
Admitting she was scared herself, Wohner said she tried her best to remain composed. One of the first things she did was try to help the out-of-town driver locate where he was, so she could send first responders.
"I was scared for him," Wohner said. "I knew our first responders would get there in time to help him."
While the two waited for first responders to get on scene and set up, Wohner had to handle a conversation the driver thought might be his last.
"If I don't survive can you just leave the recording to my family, too," the driver asked in the released 911 calls.
"Yeah, they're going to get you out," Wohner responded.
"I was like if this is the last thing he ever says to his family, I wanted to let, I would like his family to know what he was going through in that moment. So I let him have his time, but also wanted to let him know that they're going to get him out."
What gave Wohner confidence that the man could get out safely, is knowing a similar rescue happened last March. That's when Wohner's colleagues took calls about another semi truck left dangling the Ohio River on the Second Street Bridge.
Like many across the country, Wohner watched the Louisville Fire Department pull the driver of that rig to safety.
"I was not expecting it to happen so soon, or like at all, again," she said.
Wohner is also part of the National Guard where she drives trucks. She said she could never imagine being in that driver's situation.
Wohner eventually had to disconnect with the driver so first responders on scene could walk him through next steps. She then watched fire crews hoist and lift him out of the semitruck on the traffic cameras from her computer.
"I'm sure he was very happy," she said. "I was very happy for him and his family."
After taking a break for five minutes, it was on to the next call. "I got right back into it," Wohner said.
That night after work, Wohner said she decompressed by spending time with her wife and dogs.
As for the name of the firefighter seen rescuing the driver, Louisville Fire officials said they do not plan to single him out. That's because the rescue was the result of the efforts of the entire team -- from the dispatchers to the LMPD officers who blocked traffic -- to allow firefighters to swoop in and bring the driver to safety.
Wohner and Louisville Fire Capt. Donovan Sims shared more details with WDRB Mornings Wednesday. CLICK HERE to watch the full interview or view it in the player below:
For 18 minutes Martyna Wohner was the driver's lifeline until first responders arrived.
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