Shuttle driver rattled after bike thrown off overpass hits van
(ABC 6 News) – It was a terrifying moment for one shuttle driver when early Friday morning, something fell from the sky, crashing into his van.
RELATED: VIDEO: Rochester Shuttle Service van hit by bike tossed from overpass early Friday morning
That driver, Luke Calvert says the situation made him a little weary to get back behind the wheel, but he’s just grateful it wasn’t much worse.
“All of a sudden I look up in the sky, and I notice something that was like flying in the air and I didn’t know what it was,” said Calvert.
Calvert was heading into Rochester from the Twin Cities to start his shift at Star Transportation, when around 2:19 a.m., an object was thrown off the 85th Street overpass on Highway 52, hitting his van.
“I’ve worked for, you know, for this company two years, and I’ve never experienced it like this before, you know. It’s kinda scary, that’s for sure,” said Calvert.
Calvert pulled over, and the driver who was behind him stopped to confirm it was a bike tossed off the bridge.
“First thought is, was anybody hurt? You know, number one, don’t want anybody hurt, especially when it’s something that should never happen in the first place,” said Adam Pierce, manager of Star Transportation.
The bike hit the bumper on the front left side of the vehicle, narrowly missing the windshield. The van will be in the shop for repairs for a few days, but Pierce says it shouldn’t affect the company’s ability to do business.
“Luckily there was minimal damage to the vehicle, but if it had been a second later, it probably would’ve been in his lap and been a lot worse,” said Pierce.
Thankfully, Calvert and the other drivers on the road weren’t hurt, but if it had happened just a moment later, it could have caused a serious accident, possibly even a fatal one.
“A second later, he would’ve been, he’d a been in the hospital,” said Pierce.
Though Calvert lived to tell the tale, he says he’ll take extra precaution next time he drives in that area.
“When I go underneath that bridge again, it’s gonna kinda give me, you know, not the heebie jeebies, but it’s gonna kinda give me a little, you know say, oh someone else can throw something else under the bridge,” said Calvert.
Star Transportation asks anyone with information about this incident to contact them, or reach out directly to Rochester Police or the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office.