VIDEO: Truck Slams Into East Street Bridge

Another truck slammed into the East Street Bridge in Westwood Thursday and police have released surveillance video of the crash.

The box truck slammed into the low-clearance bridge just after 3:03 p.m. Thursday, just the latest in a series of accidents at the Commuter Rail bridge that passes over East Street near Morrison Field. No injuries were reported in the latest crash.

The problem, according to , is two-fold. First, the height of the bridge is such that several trucks have been unable to pass through without their roofs striking it in some way.

“Most of the problems occur not so much with professional truckers, but people with rental trucks to move furniture,” said Westwood Police Sgt. and Public Safety Officer Paul Sicard. “They’re used to driving that way on a regular basis, so they don’t even think about the bridge height.”

Below is a brief history of incidents that have occurred under or near the bridge (information was provided by the Westwood Police Department):

• 1986 - 12 accidents
• 1987 - Seven accidents
• 1988 - 13 accidents
• 1992 - Four crashes, two in which cars hit the curb or the wall, one in which a car rear-ended another vehicle and a fourth involving a truck that hit the bridge.
• 2008 - Five accidents, four in which trucks hit the bridge and another involving a drunk driver who hit the curb and ended up in Morrison Field.
• 2009 - Five accidents, two in which trucks hit the bridge, one in which a truck hit the bridge and rolled over and hit a car (the car then hit a telephone pole), another involving a car that hit the curb and wall on one side and another involving a car that hit the curb and struck another oncoming car.
• 2010 - Eight accidents: Three involving trucks that hit the bridge, two in which cars hit the curb, one in which a car hit the curb and then hit an oncoming car, one involving a car that hit another oncoming vehicle, and another involving a car pulling a trailer.
• 2011 (Year to Date) - One incident in May involved a truck hitting the bridge, another involved cars crashing under the bridge, another involved a truck full of cookies that hit the bridge, one involving a wine truck hitting the bridge and spilling wine bottles onto the ground. In late September, one driver was following a GPS device and went under the bridge, which hit an air conditioning unit that was on top of the truck, knocking it onto the windshield of the car behind.

Watch the video released by the Westwood Police Department here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqYgBQpB86E&feature=youtu.be