A semi-truck with no trailer attached plunged over the side of the Delaware Memorial Bridge Friday afternoon and into the Delaware River. After 36 hours of searching, recovery crews found the driver’s body in the cab of the truck 20 feet underwater. He has been identified as 35-year-old Zair Murzakov of Brooklyn, New York.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA), which operates the bridge connecting New Jersey and Delaware, say the crash happened at 3:40 a.m. According to DRBA, the cab of a tractor-trailer (known as a bobtail) crossed multiple lanes of the southbound bridge span, crashed through a barrier, and went into the water.
Emergency crews including the Coast Guard, Delaware State Police Marine dive unit, Holloway Terrace Fire Company, and others, worked together in the response.
On Saturday morning, the crews were set to start searching at 6 a.m. but the recovery effort was delayed by water and tide conditions. A crane and barge were able to help in the successful recovery of the bobtail truck and Murzakov’s body just after 11 a.m. The victim was extricated from the truck cab and his remains are with the Delaware Medical Examiner as investigators try to determine the cause of the crash.
The truck cab was owned by a company in West Chester Township, Ohio, DRBA reported on Monday.
The bridge is still structurally safe, DRBA says, and its integrity has been thoroughly assessed. The bridge will continue to operate normally.
