The 23-year-old truck driver who destroyed a historic bridge on Christmas Eve has apologized for the incident and now faces up to 6 months in jail.
Mary Lambright was behind the wheel of the 18-wheeler, on her way home for a family Christmas dinner in Paoli, Indiana, when she attempted to cross the weight restricted bridge. The weight of the truck caused the bridge to collapse, as it was nearly 6 times over the posted weight limit.
In a recent interview with WDRB.com, she told reporters that she was “really, really tired,” on her way home and didn’t realize the truck was too tall and too heavy for the bridge.
She has publicly apologized for the incident, saying “I made the mistake and I’m so very sorry it happened.”
On January 25th, she was arraigned in court and faced a judge for the first time. She was charged with a class B misdemeanor and three driving infractions and faces up to 180 days in jail.
The trucking company that owned the tractor-trailer has since gone out of business. It’s unclear if the company operated more than one semi in its fleet, and if there were any other employees that lost jobs as a result of its closure.
The county is currently in dispute with the insurance company on who will foot the million dollar repair bill.
Lambright says she is currently unemployed and looking for another job, but the looming jail time and the possibility of losing her license is making it difficult to find new employment.
