From the corner of his eye, Jansen Simpson saw something launch off the Draveurs Bridge as he was driving to the gym one recent morning.
The Chelsea, Que., roofer reversed his van and saw something had landed on the ice over the Gatineau River some 15 metres below. A gold-coloured car had landed upright after flying over a snow embankment piled along the bridge’s railings.
With air bags blown and debris everywhere, Simpson was sure he was looking at a fatal crash. Then, incredibly, a young man climbed out of the car’s sun roof.
“I think God blessed him when he fell off that bridge,” Simpson told CBC’s Ottawa Morning. “I think when he drove off, someone gave him an extra life.”
Simpson, 40, said he was prepared to effect a rescue.
“What am I going to do to have to save this guy?” he recalled thinking. “I have a bunch of 100-foot safety ropes and some harnesses and stuff, so I was ready to start — strap that all on and proceed onto the ice.”
Fortunately, the man was able to walk and started making his way to shore.
“He was limping, he was cold,” Simpson said. “I crawled right down there about maybe about 10 to 15 feet onto the ice. I had to go to grab him.”
Simpson said he helped the man, who was now wet and cold, up the frozen riverbank to the road.
“I carried him up here and I put him inside the van and blasted the heat and started cracking some jokes about how you only have eight lives now, not nine,” Simpson said.
This man saved a driver whose car flew off a bridge onto the ice
When emergency crews arrived, Simpson said they were in disbelief.
“The cops, they thought he just drove down here,” Simpson said. “I was like, ‘No, he flew off the bridge, guys.’ And they’re like, ‘What? He’s alive?’ ‘Yeah, man, he’s alive. He’s right there.’ They couldn’t believe it.”
The moment the vehicle flew off the bridge was captured by a traffic camera, in footage seen by CBC. It shows the young man’s vehicle driving up behind another car, which it clips before swerving towards the bridge railing and flying over the edge.
The road surface was dry on Jan. 4, when the incident occurred, according to Transports Québec.
“The roads were clear and visibility was good,” the agency told Radio-Canada in a written statement.
No charges have been laid, though Quebec police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Though the driver appeared uninjured, he was taken to hospital for observation, according to Quebec provincial police.
At that point, Simpson continued on his way to the gym.
“You can’t skip leg day, you know” he said.
