The man who died after his tractor-trailer drove off the Delaware Memorial Bridge was a husband and a father. 35-year-old Zair Murzakov from Brooklyn veered across three lanes, crashed through a concrete wall, and plunged over 170 feet into the Delaware River on Friday, July 11, according to the New York Post.
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Driver Of Tractor-Trailer That Plunged Off Delaware Bridge And Died Identified
After doing an underwater search, officials managed to extract the driver on Saturday and identify him. Murzakov was driving, without a trailer, southbound on I-295 around 3:40 AM during the incident, per ABC 6.
This kind of accident is something workers have never seen before. TJ Murray had worked at the Delaware River and Bay Authority for over three decades, and this was new to him.
“From what I understand from communications today, no one remembers any kind of vehicle going over the side of the bridge,” said Murray.
Photos of the shocking incident showed just how much damage the vehicle did after smashing through the wall. There’s now a huge gap from where the impact was.
Luckily, no other vehicles were involved in the tragedy. Still, Murzakov’s death has heavily affected his family. His family launched a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral and the cost of shipping his body to his home country. They managed to raise over $17,000.
“Their greatest wish is to bring their loved one back to his homeland and lay him to rest with dignity and tradition,” said the fundraiser’s description.
According to the Delaware River and Bay Authority, a third-party contractor working on the bridge helped out. They lent a barge and crane to help pull the tractor-trailer out of the water. They also had help from other responders such as the Coast Guard, the Delaware special operations dive team, and local fire departments.
Officials are still investigating the cause of this accident. We don’t yet know why Murzakov veered and crashed off the bridge. All his GoFundMe says right now is that the driver “tragically lost control” before his plunge.