Dump Truck Crash Ruled Accidental

The who died July 5 when his vehicle plummeted into the Cuyahoga River was not to blame for the accident.

Ohio Highway Patrol investigators found the truck was running at 50 percent brake capacity, meaning the accident stemmed from mechanical versus operator error, reports Fox 8 News.

The Sterling triaxle dump truck was carrying about 15 tons of sand when the air brakes failed giving the vehicle “no chance to stop,” according to Akron Police Departmen Lt. Rick Edwards.

Christopher Burgess, who miraculously steered his speeding dump truck through a busy intersection at Portage Trail and Akron-Peninsula Rd. – and a parking lot – without hitting any people, cars or buildings, died of blunt trauma to the neck in the crash.

Summit County Medical Examiner office spokesman Gary Geunther said preliminary autopsy reports show death was probably instantaneous or nearly so. 

A brief press release stated: "Shortly after 11 a.m., Mr. Burgess was driving a dump truck down Portage Trail hill, went through a parking lot, then traveled into the Cuyahoga River. Mr. Burgess was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:45 p.m.

Burgess, 41, was praised as a hero for steering the truck through traffic and a busy parking lot after his brakes failed on the steep slope of Portage Trail. He swerved left in the parking lot between two buildings at the Valley Centre and struck a tree before plowing over an embankment and into the Cuyahoga River. 

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