Nurse Falls Off I-70 Bridge Trying to Help Accident Victims

hospital medical

Heather Curtis

WASHINGTON — (WMAL)  A shock trauma nurse was brought to shock trauma herself Wednesday morning after a good deed went terribly wrong.

Around 5 a.m. Wednesday an asphalt tanker truck hit a dump truck, which didn’t have any taillights or headlights on. The dump truck overturned and lost its load. The tanker truck jackknifed.

The nurse, whose name hasn’t been released, was driving eastbound on the I-70 bridge over the Monocacy River near Frederick when she saw the accident. The tanker truck was in flames. The nurse and her husband pulled over on the bridge so she could help.

“So she jumped over the jersey wall expecting to run across the median and over to the westbound lane. When she jumped over the jersey wall, she fell into the Monocacy River, which was pretty far below,” said Lt. Wayne Wachsmuth of the Maryland State Police Frederick Barrack.

Wachsmuth said the bridge has walls, but there are no railings at the top, so it looks like a regular jersey wall. It was also 5 a.m. and dark out.

Troopers were able to get to her quickly, and she and the driver of the dump truck were flown to a shock trauma center in Baltimore. The driver of the tractor trailer was able to escape out the rear window of the truck.

Wachsmuth said there was damage to the bridge, but it’s still safe for traffic to drive over it.

Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Wikimedia)

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