The famed 11-foot-8 bridge, affectionately known as ‘the can-opener bridge’, is a train trestle in Durham, North Carolina that has been tearing the tops off of unsuspecting rental trucks for years. This particular crash happened on New Year’s Eve, and the trend doesn’t show any signs of ending in 2018, so hold on to your butts and watch the destruction.
This Penske truck driver was likely quite startled by the sudden stoppage of the moving vehicle, despite three blocks of signs indicating a low bridge, plus an LED sign indicating that the truck was overheight and had to turn. The bridge itself is decades older than the truck, and has something of a reputation for killing trucks in this fashion. The website 11foot8.com has documented crashes for years, and indicate this happens about once a month. This is their 126th recorded incident.
You’ll note in the video that the driver blew through a red light and slammed headlong into the bridge without any sign of slowing down. They then decided the best course of action was to flee the scene, leaving the truck blocking the road without even so much as a hazard light on, and apparently the key still in the ignition. The police arrive about 20 minutes later and the responding officer is forced to take matters into their own hands, backing the truck out of the bridge.