Cuyahoga Falls, OH : Route 8 in Cuyahoga Falls reopens about 3 hours after truck strikes Bailey Road bridge on May 22, 2014

State Route 8 southbound was closed for about three hours Thursday as police, rescue crews and engineers worked to clear debris and ensure the safety of an overpass.

About 10:30 a.m., a semi-truck hauling a backhoe struck the bridge at Bailey Road, dislodging a backhoe from its trailer, Cuyahoga Falls Police Chief Jack Davis said.

Two cars then hit the backhoe, which lay on its side about 150 feet south of the bridge.

Police closed the highway and diverted traffic to the Second Street exit.

The Bailey Road bridge reopened about an hour after the accident. City engineers assessed the damage and cleared the bridge of any serious structural integrity issues.

Falls police said later Thursday that the overpass sustained some damage and was repaired temporarily but is “structurally sound.”

After clipping the bridge, the semi came to a stop another 150 feet to the south, below the Second Street bridge.

Samantha Getty, 26, had just finished her first cup of coffee Thursday morning when she heard the crash outside her apartment near the Second Street ramp.

“It was just a continuous loud noise,” she said. “It had to be the backhoe falling off. My first thought was a semi hit the [sound] wall.”

Davis said paramedics transported one driver to a local hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening.

A citation was issued to the operator of the semi-tractor, 44-year-old Jose Martinez of Pimbroke Pines, Fla., police said.

Source :
Route 8 in Cuyahoga Falls reopens after crash