This article has been updated. Click here to view the correction.
DANVERS — A driver who police said was texting behind the wheel managed to escape serious injury late Monday night after his car plunged off the Water Street bridge and into the Waters River.
Police plan to summons Gerald Maher, 21, of 195 Maple St., Danvers, to court for negligent operation of a motor vehicle and texting while driving, police Capt. Pat Ambrose said. The charge of texting behind the wheel carries a civil fine.
Just where the car — a white, 1999 Nissan Altima — landed in the river remained a mystery yesterday.
Maher, who was alone in the car, was heading toward Peabody, police said, when the car crossed the road and broke through a guardrail on the opposite side of the street. The car traveled down a steep embankment and was swallowed by the river.
The two-lane bridge in Danversport carries Route 35 traffic to and from Peabody. It's being rebuilt by the state.
Patrolmen Keith Chalmers, Dana Martin and Justin Ellenton; Sgt. Jamie Lovell; and fire and harbormaster personnel responded to the scene at 11:45 p.m., but those who first arrived could find no sign of the car, police Chief Neil Ouellette said.
Martin, who was first on scene, heard a man yelling for help, Ouellette said.
The current apparently pushed Maher through the bridge opening and toward Eastern Propane at 131 Water St., where police located him, Ouellette said. Ouellette could not say how Maher got out of the car.
"There was a mention of texting" when Maher first spoke with officers, Ouellette said.
Maher was transported by Lyons Ambulance to Beverly Hospital, where a hospital spokeswoman said he was treated and released.
A message left for Maher at his family's home yesterday morning was not returned.
Responders were unable to locate the Altima, despite the efforts of the Beverly Fire Department Dive Rescue Team. Crews plan to return to the bridge this morning to look for it, Ambrose said.
With the bridge under construction, the inland side is lined with cement barriers and fences. The eastern side of the bridge has a granite wall, but a portion is protected by a rusted guardrail, and that is where police said it looks like the car went into the water.
Police used an orange barrel and DPW sawhorses to block the opening in the guardrail that remained after the accident.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
