Semi-truck driver gets trailer stuck under north Columbus bridge overpass

COLUMBUS (WCMH) – In Durham, North Carolina, there is a famous railroad overpass called The Can Opener Bridge.

Standing at 12-feet-4 inches (up from 11-feet, 8-inches since 2020), it is periodically the site where trucks get stuck under or crash into the top of the overpass, 178 times since 2008. Late Monday night in north Columbus, a semi-truck experienced the same fate.

According to Columbus police a crash occurred at 11:31 p.m. when a semi-truck got stuck under the railroad overpass at East 17^th Avenue, near Dora Road and just west of the Ohio Expo Center. The crash caused the road to close between North 4^th Street and Korbel Avenue.

The man, who is not from Ohio, but Wyoming, told police he was able to get under a bridge earlier in the day on East 11^th Avenue, which stands at 14 feet tall. He then was leaving town on East 17^th Ave. and thought the overpass was the same height, but the bridge stands at 12-feet-9-inches. The trailer rises 13-feet and 1-inch.

No one was injured during the crash and about an hour after the trailer was wedged underneath the overpass, the driver let the air out of all 18 wheels of the truck and was able to pull it out from under the bridge. Authorities were called to assess any damage and East 17^th Ave. reopened just after 12:30 p.m.