UPDATE: It’s happened again! November 14, 2014 – check out our gallery
Footscray police say it is lucky nobody was injured or killed when another truck crashed into Footscray’s Napier Street railway bridge on Thursday.
Footscray Inspector Tony Long said the container that toppled off a freight truck and smashed into the pedestrian railings could easily have killed or seriously injured somebody.
“The bridge has been there a long time, and does not get any higher or lower depending on conditions,” he said.
“I can’t for the life of me work out why truck drivers insist on using this route if their truck is oversize.
“There are warning signs and flashing lights, and yet they continue to think they can crash on through.”
Westbound lanes were closed from McNab Avenue while the container was removed.
Trains were delayed on the Werribee and Williamstown lines while the bridge was inspected for safety.
Inspector Long said the driver would be fined about $900 while his employer would be forced to pay for haulage of the container and safety inspections of the bridge.
Once the likely damage bill for the container and its contents was added in it made for “a pretty costly shortcut”.
A Metro trains spokeswoman said the crash was the 21st time a truck had crashed into the bridge since November 2009.
