SALINA, NEW YORK — A Virginia box truck driver struck the Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge Thursday morning and told deputies he simply “didn’t see” any of the more than 50 signs, warnings, and countermeasures lining the road in both directions. It was the 34th time the bridge has been hit since 2022.
The crash happened at approximately 7:45 a.m. on Thursday. Shawn Williams, 53, of Virginia, was driving east on Onondaga Lake Parkway when his box truck struck the railroad bridge. The top of the truck sustained damage. The bridge was unharmed. No injuries were reported. Williams was heading back to Virginia at the time. Deputies could not confirm who he was working for.
Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Thomas Newton said Williams received three tickets for failure to obey a traffic control device.
A Bridge That Won’t Stop Getting Hit
The Onondaga Lake Parkway bridge has a clearance of just 10 feet 9 inches. A typical box truck stands between 10 and 13.5 feet tall. Despite more than 50 signs, warnings, and countermeasures installed in both directions, drivers keep hitting it. The bridge was struck eight times in 2025 alone and 34 times since 2022.
In mid-February, DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez announced the state had installed new larger, brighter signs to alert drivers. Thursday’s crash came less than two months after that announcement.
New York State also stiffened the penalties for bridge strikes starting in February. Previously, hitting a bridge carried zero license points. Now it carries eight points. Under DMV guidelines, a driver hitting 10 points within 24 months faces a license suspension. An 11-point infraction triggers an automatic suspension.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
