FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS — The wife of the box truck driver who plunged 50 feet into the Merrimack River on I-293 in Manchester Wednesday morning says she is still processing the shock of what happened — and deeply grateful her husband and the father of her two young children made it out alive.
Lexi Rodriguez spoke with 7NEWS Thursday, sharing new details about how her husband Dylan, 26, escaped from the submerged truck before first responders reached him by boat.
“What I know so far is that he reacted quickly, took the seatbelt off before it locked and he was able to get out, and that’s when the first responders got on the boat to go grab him,” she said.
Manchester Fire Department confirmed the truck landed upright in the river. Dylan was able to get himself out from underwater and climb onto the roof through the truck’s broken windshield, where he waited until rescue boats reached him. He was not seriously hurt.
Lexi said she is still working through the weight of what could have happened. “Still a lot of anxiety, a lot of shock. Just hard to cope that this happened to him,” she said. “It makes me feel thankful that he’s alive again. Nobody expects for this to happen, you know, life can change from a moment to another.”
She also extended her thanks to the first responders who acted quickly and to the paramedic who called her immediately after the crash. “Huge thank you to that paramedic who called me, notified me right away. We live in Fall River, and that was all the way in New Hampshire so I got there as quick as I could.”
What Happened
Dylan Rodriguez was driving a 30-foot box truck northbound on I-293 over the Merrimack River in Manchester on September 23 as part of a chain reaction involving up to seven vehicles in at least two separate crashes. His truck broke through the guardrail on the bridge and plunged approximately 50 feet into the river. Eleven people were hurt across the crashes. A minor passenger in another vehicle suffered serious injuries. The crash remains under investigation by New Hampshire State Police.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
