May 7, 2021
Approximate time: 1956
Weather Conditions: Rain

We were requested to respond to Route 322 at the railroad under pass in Downingtown Borough for a tractor trailer that was stuck under the underpass. We were advised that the unit was traveling from Downingtown towards West Chester when it became stuck.

Based upon the information we were given, we dispatched one of our heavy duty wreckers and a tractor to repower the trailer. We also contacted Null’s Recovery & Site Restoration to respond to the scene with one of their Incident Response Units and their service truck.

Upon arrival, the Freightliner tractor pulling an empty 53’ van trailer was found to have attempted to go under the 12′ underpass and became wedge. The tractor suffered damage to the roof of the cab. The trailer suffered major damage to the front and both sidewalls along with the roof.

One of our portable light towers was set-up to provide a safe work area for the crews working on scene.

The heavy duty wrecker was used to separate the trailer from the truck. Once the trailer was clear of the truck, our tractor hooked to the trailer. The heavy duty wrecker was then used to lift the back drive axle so that NR&SR could remove the drive wheels and tires. The truck was then lowered till the suspension was touching the ground. This gave enough clearance that the truck could be recovered without causing any further damage to the bridge or the truck.

All of the wheels and tires were loaded into NR&SR’s IRU to be transported back to our facility. The truck, trailer, and bridge pieces and debris was picked up from the roadway.

The damaged truck and trailer were transported from the accident scene to Null’s of Cochranville where they were placed in our secure storage yard.

A huge thank you to the Downingtown Fire Department’s Volunteer Fire Police and the Downingtown Police Department for their help onscene, it is greatly appreciated.