Small Town News

Truck driver survives bridge collapse

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A dump truck driver hauling rock over a bridge near Reynolds Station last Wednesday afternoon survived a 20-foot fall after the 59-year-old structure collapsed.

Hershel Sullivan, an independent contractor, was hired to take two loads of rock provided by the county to fill in a culvert on Green Lane.

While Sullivan was hauling his first load around 3:15 p.m., the bank caved in from the recent heavy rains, causing the bridge to give way.

"It dropped a little and gave me a little time to think about it," Sullivan said. 'Then, the left side of the bridge caved in."

The dump truck was nipped upside down into a shallow Panther Creek, with steel and wooden beams falling on top of it.

Sullivan was able to pull himself out of the cab without sustaining any major injuries.

"When I crawled out, all I could do was smile because I wasn't worried about the truck at that point," said Sullivan, who surveyed the damage the following day with local landowners. "I'm not hurt but I'm sore as I can be."

Sullivan was hired by Les Green for the hauling but the rock was approved by Magistrate Larry Keown since it was going to be dropped on a county road.

"I never would have let him cross it if I thought it would (collapse)," Green said.

Keown, who had Sullivan sign a waiver for the job, agreed to provide the rock if Green found a driver willing to cross the bridge.

"I wasn't going to send one of our county trucks across that bridge," Keown said.

About a year ago, the county took in Green Lane at the request of Keown.

However, the bridge, approximately 56-feet long and 15-feet wide, splits Green Lane in half, one side of the road in Hancock County and the other in Ohio County.

The bridge, built sometime around 1950 by two local landowners, has to be accessed from the Hancock County side but neither Hancock nor Ohio county claim ownership of it.

Keown said Denny Larkin, a retired state bridge inspector, looked at the bridge as a favor and determined the bridge was unsafe.

"We didn't know who the bridge belonged to and (the county) didn't want the re-sponsibility of it," Keown said.

The Times-News left a message at Larkin's residence but the phone call was never returned.

Keown took in the road in after being approached by landowners on the Ohio County side of the bridge.

J.R. Hunt, who was one of those landowners, said he was grateful for Keown trying to improve the road.

"I have a garden I plant every year," Hunt said. "I have to cross the bridge to get to it and I've never thought twice about it. Larry is the only one who has tried to help us with the road."

There are six properties on the Ohio County side, with two homes.

Green has a home next to his 71-year-old mother, Reba, and without the bridge they cannot leave.

Both are stranded and refuse to vacate their homes. Reba Green has been recovering from a major surgery.

On Thursday, the Greens sat on the Ohio side of the destroyed bridge and talked to Keown and Ohio County EMA Director Charlie Shields who were on the Hancock side.

"You might as well bring a mule to water and try to make it drink than try to make her leave," said Green as he spoke to Shields.

Shields said he could get them out by accessing a 4-wheeler trail.

"I can offer the help but I can't make anybody leave," Shields said.

Keown said he's going to approach the Ohio County Fiscal Court about cutting another road through as an alternate route, bypassing the bridge all together.

"I'm just one member the court," Keown said. "I'll still have to get approval from the rest of the court."



Copyright 2009 The Ohio County Times-News, Hartford, Kentucky. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 The Ohio County Times-News Hartford, Kentucky. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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