Crews rescue man after truck goes into Akron ravine

AKRON, Ohio - A truck went off of a cliff and into a ravine behind an Akron apartment building Wednesday night.

Akron police and fire departments responded to the scene on the 1700 block of Dominion Drive in Akron.

Fire crews acted quickly. They rigged ropes to a tree and rappelled 60 feet down the hill where the driver was stuck.

Captain Mark Oziomek with the Akron Fire Department said it was a challenging rescue considering crews had to work in the dark.

Oziomek said it took about an hour and a half to rescue the man from the bottom of the ravine.

"The truck flipped up on top of itself. There was a guy trapped for a little bit. We had our medical crews get to him first," said Oziomek.

At about midnight, Akron firefighters successfully rescued the man. Emergency responders placed him in a safety stretcher and pulled him up out of the ravine to an ambulance waiting on the street.

The rescue happened in Junell Neal's backyard.

"Probably about 10:30 I heard something that sounded like thunder. I didn't think much of it," said Neal.

"When we came out, there was the first fire truck. It was pulling up and suddenly my house got taken over."

The victim is in stable condition. He had some minor injuries like scratches on his face. But he was walking and talking to responders.

It's unclear how the accident happened. Officials are looking into whether alcohol or speed played a role.

Firefighters told us they will pull the truck out of the ravine during daylight hours.