A Niagara Falls man who walked out of the Niagara Gorge after driving his pickup truck through a fence and down the steep embankment near the Whirlpool Bridge was taken to ECMC for treatment Wednesday night.
New York State Park Police said they were called to the area of the Aquarium of Niagara about 6:25 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a man in medical attention.
Upon arrival Officers found the 42-year-old man suffering from injuries consistent with an accident, including lacerations and multiple broken bones. While investigating the scene, officers located a damaged fence with tire tracks in the grass just north of the Whirlpool Bridge.
It was determined that he had driven a 2008 Toyota Tundra through the fence and into the Niagara Gorge. Trees stopped the vehicle from plunging into the Niagara River rapids. The man was then able to extricate himself from the vehicle, walk the trail and up the stairs, and walk about a mile toward the aquarium until the point in time when officers made contact with him.
Officers searched the area of the vehicle Wednesday night and determined there were no other victims. Early Thursday morning just after sunrise, Park Police went back out to the crash site to do a secondary search of the area and vehicle and again saw no signs of anyone else.
The man was transported to ECMC by AMR ambulance for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident remains under investigation by the New York State Park Police with the assistance of The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office.
New York State Parks is currently investigating means to remove the car from the gorge. The area where the vehicle is currently closed off.