Two Chicago city workers scrambled to safety after the salt truck they were operating Wednesday morning slid backward into an icy-cold Lake Michigan.
The workers were traveling on a lakefront trail around 7:20 a.m. when it began to slide into the water near Chicago Avenue, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
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“They hit a slick spot of ice and the vehicle lost control, sliding into the water.”
Both workers escaped the sinking truck and crawled ashore before the truck submerged.
Two Chicago city workers escaped the icy waters of Lake Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 11 2019, when they crawled out of the vehicle just before it slid into the water. (WLS-TV)
Although police did not name the city employees, they did say one man, 46, was treated for a busted lip at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, while the second man, 45, refused any medical treatment.
The Chicago Fire Department posted a tweet containing photos of the city truck after it was pulled from the icy waters of Lake Michigan Wednesday afternoon.
A video posted by NBC Chicago affiliate WMAQ shows the salt truck slowly traveling on the trail and turning sideways before sliding backwards into the lake, the newspaper report said.
The salt truck was one of four or five Park District salt trucks assigned to the lakefront that morning with the crew assigned to salt the path between Grand and Fullerton avenues, Lach said.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd district) tweeted he was glad both workers were unharmed.
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“It looks like the Park District will be down one salt truck for a while: it’s currently submerged in the Lake,” he wrote.
Crews closed down several lanes of Lake Shore Drive to maneuver a crane to pull the truck from the lake about 1:30 p.m., the Sun-Times reported.