It just keeps happening: Watch the latest case of a truck hitting Long Grove's bridge
It just keeps happening. But now, Long Grove's covered bridge keeps winning.
Police said Tuesday it was just the latest case Monday when a box truck ran into the north face of the bridge cover on Robert Parker Coffin Road.
Lake County sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Christopher Covelli said officers arrived at the scene at 4:33 p.m., shortly after the truck hit the bridge. No one was injured and there wasn't substantial damage to the bridge.
But video taken by a nearby shop owner showed the truck itself suffered plenty, with the front of the box crunched and folded.
Jeffery Taylor, the owner of Ma and Pa's Candy on Robert Parker Coffin Road, said he saw the truck approaching the bridge and tried to stop it while he was outside his store building a snow fort for the village's upcoming Cocoa Crawl festival.
In a video he posted on Facebook, he and another person are seen waving and shouting at the truck driver helplessly. Then the crunch of the truck hitting the bridge is heard.
Covelli said there have been 13 reports of similar crashes since the bridge reopened last August. It had been closed for two years due to severe damage caused by a box truck on June 27, 2018, soon after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Two crashes occurred within the first week of its reopening. Signage was then added.
"There's numerous bright yellow, neon signs advising all traffic of the height restrictions, from both directions, so it's unclear why so many drivers have disregarded them or not paid attention," Covelli said.
The driver was issued two citations, one for disobeying a traffic control sign and one for violating the village ordinance for height at the covered bridge.
Taylor said he himself has seen trucks crash into the bridge eight times since its reopening.
"I got lucky being able to catch this one on camera," Taylor said. "We usually hear the impact and then go check out the damage."
The bridge has been there for 114 years. The first cover was added in 1972 to help preserve the bridge and limit traffic from trucks and other heavy vehicles.