Truck driver damages Tunbridge covered bridge

Another covered bridge in our region has been damaged by a truck that couldn't fit through. This one was in Tunbridge.

Vermont state police say a 28-foot truck ran into the Flint Covered Bridge in Tunbridge a little after 1 p.m. Thursday. They say the operator of the truck then drove away from the scene. Police say the driver was eventually located in Waterbury.

The Bicknell Hill Road Bridge sustained considerable damage during the incident and will be closed indefinitely.

"There are several big beams broke and the face of it is all gone and it's all got to be checked out to find out how much the bridge has been hurt," said Rodney Hoyt, the road foreman in Tunbridge.

Police have identified the driver connected to the Tunbridge incident as Keymoy Vassell, 26, of Peru, New York. Vassell was issued a ticket for driving too fast and operating a vehicle over the bridge's weight limit. He told police he left the scene because there was no cell service in Tunbridge.

The Flint Covered Bridge spans the First Branch River. The bridge was built in 1845.

Now, this incident comes just a couple of months after two other historic covered bridges were damaged by vehicles. Bridges in Lyndonville and Woodstock were hit back in May. Both those bridges remain closed several months later, though repairs have begun in Lyndonville.

The Millers Run Bridge in Lyndonville was plowed into by food delivery truck. That incident was captured on video. Repairs have started on that bridge, though it remains closed to motorists.

A day before that incident, the Lincoln Bridge in Woodstock was hit by a trailer towing landscaping equipment. As of this week, repairs had not yet begun on that bridge and it, too, remains closed to traffic.