MANTEO, NC -- A family driving home from the Outer Banks captured a frightening scene on the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge Saturday afternoon.
As high winds from Tropical Storm Hermine pounded the area, Ashlyn Gonzalez and her family noticed the Harris-Teeter semi in front of them tipping back and forth on the four-lane bridge.
She started recording what the family was witnessing.
"I got that on video," one child can be heard saying in the video. “No, the back tires totally lift up."
“You’ve got to see the front,” a woman said. “You see the front, it’s going straight, so the whole thing…”
At that point everyone inside the vehicle screams as the trailer’s back wheels lift from the bridge. The rest of the semi starts to list and then the entire truck overturns, landing on its side.
"Oh my God. Oh my God! I'm so scared," one child can be heard screaming.
Gonzalez said she and her family were heading home to Florida from vacation when they witnessed the accident.
Harris-Tweeter told WAVYthe driver was not seriously injured.
However, another Harris-Teeter semi driver was killed when his big rig overturned on the Alligator River Bridge around 11 a.m. The truck's cab landed on the bridge's railing.
The driver was later identified as a 64-year-old man from Greensboro.
Harris Teeter released the following statement about the fatal wreck.
"The entire Harris Teeter family is deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and colleague. Our condolences are with his family and friends. He served Harris Teeter for 12 years and was recognized for the last nine years in a row with our company’s esteemed Safe Driving award."
