Ohio Truck in River Crash Had Ineffective Brakes

A State Highway Patrol inspection has found “ineffective” brakes on a 12-wheel dump truck that sped down an incline toward a plaza and an intersection before crashing into a northeast Ohio river, killing the driver.

Akron police Lt. Rick Edwards tells the Akron Beacon Journal the condition of the brakes indicates there’s no way the driver could have stopped the runaway vehicle. Edwards says two of its eight brakes were inoperable, and three were below state standards.

The truck hauling sand became submerged upside down in the Cuyahoga River on July 5. The crash killed 41-year-old driver Christopher Burgess of Ravenna.

Witnesses praised him for trying to warn bystanders with a horn and maneuvering around a busy intersection, pedestrians and a strip mall without injuring anyone else.