OLA, Ark. (AP) Officials believe a trucker hauling frozen chickens was lost
and relying on GPS when he drove across a rural Arkansas bridge and caused the
nearly 90-year-old span to collapse into a river.
Jeff Gilkey, with the Yell County Office of Emergency Management, said Friday
that the driver wasn’t hurt but was cited for violating bridge weight standards.
Gilkey says a crane would be used to clear Wednesday night’s accident site near
Ola. The 18-wheeler remains tangled with bridge debris in the Petit Jean River.
The bridge, built in 1930, has a posted weight limit of 6 tons (5.44 metric
tons). The rig weighed more than 30 tons (27.22 metric tons) with a load from
Wayne Farms in Danville.
Gilkey also says the driver isn’t fluent in English and an interpreter was
summoned.
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