Steve's Towing in Athabasca received a call at approximately 12:30 a.m. Friday morning from a driver who blew a tire and left the roadway near the bridge at the Highway 55/813 interchange, sliding down the escarpment.
The male driver of a Ford F-350 Super Duty was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was unhurt in the incident that hurled him off of the roadway at the turn on the east end of the bridge.
He was able to exit the vehicle, although it took about two hours for the pickup to be towed up the 70- or 80-foot slope the truck had slid down.
RCMP were not required, according to tow operator Chris Gervais, who works for Steve’s Towing.
"He was coming around the corner, and what ended up happening was he just blew a front passenger’s side (tire)," said Gervais.
Gervais said the blown tire likely precipitated the accident, but the driver may have made matters worse by applying the brakes after blowing the tire.
"Another 50 feet and he would have hit the bridge (support) — that's how close he was," said Gervais.
