Divers pulled a man from his submerged truck that witnesses said ran off the road between two bridges and into the Tennessee River on Friday afternoon.

James L. Smith, 62, of Hillsboro appeared to be unconscious when diver Casey Fogg with the Morgan County Rescue Squad brought him to the surface at about 3:45 p.m.

Limestone County Coroner Mike West said Decatur emergency medical technicians pronounced Smith dead soon after.

“It appears Mr. Smith drowned,” West said.

“He did have health problems that could have played a role in the wreck, but if he hadn’t been in the water, he would have lived.”

45-minute search

Rescuers searched the river for about 45 minutes before locating Smith and his truck. Decatur Fire Marshal Darwin Clark said the truck was traveling north on U.S. 31 on the river causeway at about 2:45 p.m. when it drove into the grassy median and in between the small northbound and southbound bridges, just north of the Hudson Memorial Bridge, which is the main span across the river.

Four divers and several Morgan County Rescue Squad boats searched the channel for the submerged truck, swimming against the brisk 53-degree current, Clark said.

The truck sank down to the river bed beneath 12 to 20 feet of water, he said. A plastic toolbox from the truck was found floating in the water, and police pulled it to shore.

Witnesses said the toolbox detached from the truck and floated away as soon as it hit the water.

When divers pulled Smith out of the submerged truck, he was wearing a brown short-sleeve work shirt and a gold wedding ring.

West said his wife and two adult children identified Smith on Friday evening.

Divers immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Smith after pulling him on a rescue boat and then sped away to Ihore. Clark said other emergency medical workers waited there along with MedFlight to transport Smith to a local hospital.

Witnesses

Mike and Chris Overall were on the southbound bridge when they saw Smith’s truck hit the Hudson Memorial Bridge, then two signs in the median before plunging into the river.

“He never hit the brakes,” Mike Overall said.

“He had to have been unconscious because he had time to stop after hitting the speed limit sign.”

Mike Overall turned his sport utility vehicle around in the median, and both brothers jumped out to try to help.

“We tried to whip the SUV into the median to stop the truck, but it was off in the river,” Chris Overall said.

The brothers said the truck went airborne because it was going so fast before landing in the river with a huge splash. It drifted beneath the southbound bridge before sinking to the bottom, they said.

“It’s just a bad situation,” Mike Overall said. “I’ve had experience in the rescue field, and it just feels awful knowing I couldn’t do anything to help him. My prayers go out to the man’s family having to go through this.”

Amanda and Daniel Hall of Decatur were also driving south on the causeway when they saw the truck hit a guardrail in the northbound lane, then continue.

An unidentified woman said she was driving in front of the truck and heard a loud noise. She looked back and saw the truck’s hood fly up, blocking the driver’s vision, as the truck continued traveling at the same speed before hitting the water, she said.

“I thought it was going to hit us head-on in our lane,” Amanda Hall said. “My husband jumped out of the car and ran to the boat harbor to get someone with a boat to help the person in the truck.”

Decatur traffic officers said they are still investigating the cause of the wreck.

Clark said Smith was the only victim inside the truck.

“The water very murky and swift-moving,” Clark said. “That made it difficult for our divers to find the truck and then locate the driver inside.”

When the truck was pulled from the water, it appeared to have front-end and windshield damage, and the hood was up.

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