Driver killed after semi truck cab plunged off Delaware Memorial Bridge identified
NEW CASTLE, Del. (WPVI) -- Authorities have released the name of the driver whose semi truck cab crashed through a concrete wall and plunged off the Delaware Memorial Bridge on Friday.
The body of Zair Murzakov, 35, of Brooklyn, New York, was recovered late Saturday morning.
In a statement from the Delaware River and Bay Authority, emergency personnel used a Hurst tool to remove the body. The cab was brought the surface with the assistance of a crane and barge from the active construction site of the Bridge Ship Collision Protection project.
Officials say the cab, without a trailer, was traveling southbound on I-295 into Delaware around 3:40 a.m. Friday when it crossed three lanes of traffic, went onto the concrete pad near the Delaware anchorage and crashed through a concrete wall.
The truck then fell into the Delaware River below.
Search crews located the cab in about 20 feet of water several hours later.
TJ Murray, who has worked at the Delaware River and Bay Authority for over three decades, said he has never heard of anything like this happening before.
"From what I understand from communications today, no one remembers any kind of vehicle going over the side of the bridge," Murray said.
No other vehicles were involved in the incident.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority says that a third-party contractor doing work on the bridge lent a barge and crane to help get the tractor-trailer cab out of the water.
Other responding agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Delaware special operations dive team, and local fire companies, responded to the scene.
DRBA maintenance and marine units worked to secure the impact area on the bridge and underneath to prevent large objects and other unsafe debris from falling into the river where the recovery efforts are took place, officials said.
