Several high profile truck-accidents with historic structures have made headlines here in America in recent months. One accident involved a truck taking down an old-iron cast bridge in Paoli, Indiana, and more recently a truck took down a 3-ton limit bridge in Iowa.
But a recent accident in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, might top them all.
On Thursday morning, a local truck driver in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, U.K., crashed into the ancient ‘Newport Arch’ that was constructed 200 years after the birth of Jesus — in 200 A.D.
According to Radio BBC, the truck driver did not see the low clearance warning beneath the arch, and proceeded to drive through it.
Part of the way through, the rig got stuck. The driver then attempted to back out of the arch, but was unsuccessful.
Coincidentally, just a few feet from the arch were warning signs and a photo of a similar incident that occurred back in 1964.
Locals blamed the crash on the driver’s use of a GPS, with one Lincolnshire resident commenting, “How about the driver use his brain and not the Sat Nav. If he’d been told to drive over a cliff, would he have done so? No excuse.”
Officials had to help the driver let air out of the tires in order to lower the vehicle just enough to squeeze through the archway.
It’s unclear if the driver will face any charges.