A father and his 3-year-old son were rescued Friday morning after their SUV crashed off the side of an interstate flyover bridge in southwest Atlanta and plunged at least 50 feet, officials confirmed.
The crash took place around 4 a.m. on the bridge between I-85 North and Langford Parkway, Atlanta police confirmed in a news release. The bridge takes traffic over the shallow South River, a tributary of the Ocmulgee River that originates in East Point, but an Atlanta fire official said it was not a water rescue.
The father called 911 after the crash and said he was trapped in his car with his 3-year-old but was not sure of his location, police said. Officers began searching overpasses in the area and coordinated with a 911 operator to find the SUV.
After the vehicle crashed off the bridge, it tumbled down an embankment between 50-75 feet, fire department spokesperson Alyssa Richardson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Police found the SUV resting in the riverbed below the bridge in water too shallow to submerge it.
The child was rescued first by firefighters, who then lowered one crewmember down the embankment with special equipment to pull out the man, Richardson said.
The man was hauled up on a backboard with a neck-stabilizing collar and taken to a hospital, according to Richardson. Police said the father was stable and the child was uninjured.
The police and fire activity was cleared and traffic began flowing on the Langford Parkway ramp just after 7:15 a.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
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