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Joliet First Responders Rescue Driver After SUV Plunges Off Jefferson Street Bridge Into Des Plaines River
A 33-year-old man was pulled from the Des Plaines River in critical condition Saturday after his speeding Toyota 4Runner struck the Jefferson Street Bridge and plunged into the water, closing the span for nearly 10 hours.
JOLIET â A 33-year-old man was rescued from the Des Plaines River on Saturday evening after the SUV he was driving struck a bridge and careened into the water, according to Joliet police.
The crash happened around 4:30 p.m. when the man, driving a Toyota 4Runner eastbound on West Jefferson Street at what police described as a high rate of speed, lost control, hit the Jefferson Street Bridge and went into the river.
Officers and paramedics who responded found the man in the water on the southwest side of the bridge. First responders threw him a life preserver and officers held onto him until fire department personnel entered the water and brought him to safety, authorities said.
The man was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, police said.
Fire department divers later located the 4Runner in the river, and the vehicle was towed from the water. Video from the scene showed investigators, including some in a boat, searching the water, along with a crane on the bridge that appeared to be used to pull the car out.
The bridge stayed closed for nearly 10 hours for the emergency response and investigation, reopening around 2 a.m.
Police did not immediately release additional information about the driver or the circumstances of the crash.
The incident underscores the dangers of high-speed driving on the city's bridge approaches, where a loss of control can send a vehicle directly into the river. Emergency crews' quick response â from the life preserver tossed from the bank to the divers who recovered the vehicle â was credited with preventing a worse outcome.