SYRACUSE -- A tractor-trailer and two passengers plunged over the edge of I-81 in downtown Syracuse landing on the sidewalk near McBride Street early Friday morning.
Police are investigating what caused the front cab of a tractor-trailer to briefly dangle over the edge of an elevated area of I-81 North before plunging nearly 25 feet to the pavement below.
Police say that around 12:30 a.m. Friday morning, the 2004 Freightliner tractor trailer struck the guide rail, then a bridge abutment. The crash caused the cab to separate from the frame.
The cab of the truck dangled briefly before it split entirely from the frame and fell over the edge of the highway with the driver and passenger inside.
It landed on the sidewalk near McBride Street between Erie Boulevard East and Water Street.
Police say the cab landed in an upright position which allowed the passengers to get out with only minor injuries.
The two passengers were pulled from the cab and transported to Upstate Hospital as a precautionary measure. Firefighters say the two men in the cab were conscious and speaking when rescuers pulled them out.
Police say the passengers were both from Brampton, Ontario. The driver was identified as 53-year-old Subhash Thaker and the passenger 52-year-old Pawanjit Sharma.
Officials say the truck was registered to Transportation Network Carriers. The truck was moving electronic cargo from Jonestown, Pennsylvania to Toronto, Canada.
I-81 north was completely reopened around 4:45 a.m. after the trailer and engine compartment were removed from the road.
Police say Thaker was issued a traffic ticket for moving from the lane unsafely and will answer the charge in Syracuse Traffic Court at a later date.
The cause of the accident is being investigated.
