Report: Truck Driver in Bay Bridge Incident Was On First Trip to US

The driver of a truck that sent one vehicle over the edge of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in July was on his first unsupervised trip in the country, according to a report from a transportation safety board. 

The preliminary report can be viewed in full online at the National Transportation Safety Board's website. 

Gabor Lavasz, 29, was operating a 2010 International truck-tractor and refrigerated trailer combination vehicle. The truck crashed into a Chrysler, which pushed it into a concrete barrier wall. 

"The Chrysler was pushed up onto, and then rode along the top of, the barrier wall before falling approximately 27 feet into the Chesapeake Bay," according to the report.

The driver of the Chrysler, Morgan Lake, 22, of Sunderland, was able to swim to shore nearby and sustained only minor injuries.

This YouTube video shows the moments after Morgan Lake's car plunged into the Chesapeake Bay, as she clung to the shores near Sandy Point State Park.

The truck belonged to Bulk Carriers PEI Limited, based out of Prince Edward Island, Canada. According to the report, the driver was distracted before the accident, "by lights and sounds behind him," according to the report.

The driver had been employed by the company since April, having emigrated to Canada from Hungary as part of the country's temporary foreign worker pilot project. 

"This trip was the truck driver’s first time driving in the United States without being paired with a more experienced driver," according to the report.

The report stated that the concrete barrier on the bridge remained intact despite the incident.