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Watch: Shocking video shows truck carrying US Mail plunge into Charles River
Hundreds of pieces of mail were pulled from the river.
Missing some mail?
Weston Fire and State Police dive crews pulled hundreds of packages and pieces of mail out of the Charles River following a tractor-trailer crash Saturday. Investigators are still unsure of the exact cause of the accident.
The State Police Association of Massachusetts tweeted out a video of the accident.
The tractor-trailer was driving on a long ramp near an exit off I-95 to the Massachusetts Turnpike around noon Saturday when it crashed into the river, the Associated Press reported.
The driver was unable to swim, but was able to get out of the truck before it sank. Firefighters, wearing cold water rescue suits, were able to get the driver to shore within 5 minutes, according to a Facebook post made Sunday.
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“The exact circumstances leading up to the accident are under investigation by the Mass State Police,” read a portion of the post.
Weston Fire Chief David Soar said in an interview with The Boston Globe that crews saw “hundreds” of mail packages floating in the river.
“While they had the boat in the water, they were scooping up as much mail as they could,” Soar said on Sunday. “We got most of it out of the water. Some of it probably sunk, but they got a lot of mail out of the water.”
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Crews were on the scene until around 9 p.m. while dive teams attempted to remove the vehicle from the water.
“It took a long time, because crews tried to get the trailer out so that it wouldn’t break and lose all the mail [while towing it out of the water.] And they did, so they did a really good job,” Soar said. “There was so much mud that the trailer had just kind of suctioned into the ground.”
Soar said the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection responded to the crash, but there was no sign of fuel leaking.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating the crash with state and local police, according to a statement from officials.
“Great work by all involved!” Weston Fire said in a tweet Sunday.
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