A New Jersey family cheated death when they pulled off a wild move — straight out of an action movie — and escaped the clutches of an opening drawbridge.
Terrance Naphys and his family were en route by car to Cape May earlier this month when they found themselves caught in a terrifying situation as they were crossing the Middle Thorofare Bridge, which connects Wildwood and Cape May.
Suddenly, the steel grate of the bridge started to open underneath them, rising between 3 and 6 feet in the air — and Naphys made a quick decision to gun it over the bridge.
“He accelerated, and of course then we landed with a big impact on the concrete on the side,” the man’s wife, Jackie Naphys, told CBS Philadelphia in an interview this week.
Terrance Naphys believes his risky behind-the-wheel maneuver saved his family’s life.
“I’m thankful we’re still here because I think if we went in the water or stayed on the bridge, we wouldn’t still be here, or we’d be seriously, seriously injured,” he told the news outlet.
Miraculously, the family’s car suffered only minor damage to the front undercarriage as a result of the Aug. 1 incident.
Naphys had just finished paying the toll and was headed over the drawbridge when it started to open due to a large passing vessel, according to the New Jersey State Police.
“An employee for the Cape May County Bridge Commission stated that a large vessel was approaching the bridge and they had no contact with that vessel due to their radio being down,” State Police said, according to the news outlet.
According to troopers, a bridge employee in control of operating the steel grate may not have seen the Naphys family’s car going over the bridge due to sun glare.
Authorities have determined that the Cape May County Bridge Commission is to blame for the potentially deadly incident, according to CBS Philadelphia.
“We take the safety of the traveling public very seriously and systems are in place to prevent incidents like the one that has been reported from occurring. Once the results of our investigation are complete we will take any and all necessary action to insure the continued safety of our customers,” the bridge commission said in a statement to the news outlet.