Pictured: Truck driver who perished after hitting family's car and plunging from bridge... as rescuers reveal 10-week-old baby slept through entire accident



Killed: Charles Allison Jr. lost his life when his truck plunged from a 100ft-high bridge into a creek

The trucker who perished after his vehicle clipped a family's car and plunged into a creek from a 100ft-high freeway bridge has been pictured for the first time.

Charles Allison Jr., 48, was driving a gravel truck when it rear-ended a BMW on Highway 101 in California, causing the car to spin out of control and teeter perilously on the edge of the bridge.

Mr Allison's vehicle ploughed through the guardrail and plummeted to the creek below, bursting into flames and killing the driver - while the mother and two young children inside the BMW looked on.

Dangling over the edge of the bridge, Kelli Lynne Groves, a 36-year-old first grade teacher, and her two young children - Sage, 10, and Milo, ten-weeks old - awaited rescue.



It has now emerged that baby Milo did not stir once, despite the massive impact that caused Ms Groves’ car to land on the centre of the concrete guard rail.

Even when emergency services arrived on the scene, she slept through the commotion and never cried once, the California Highway Patrol told KSBY.com.

They credited the tot's mother for helping to save her life by placing the baby in a rear facing car seat behind the driver seat.

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Dramatic: Fire crews rescued Kelli Lynne Groves, 36, from her car after a truck rear-ended her BMW, leaving the mother and two daughters dangling precariously over the edge of a bridge

Intense moment: Fire crews use a US Navy SEEBEE heavy forklift to stabilize the BMW that was dangling over the side of the bridge

The terrified family waited for an hour for rescue crews to extricate them from the wreckage, and received help in the meantime from a group of Navy Seabees who were stuck in southbound traffic.

The Seabees used a forklift they were transporting to stop the BMW from going over the bridge, KTLA reports.

Photos capture ten-year-old Sage Groves looking terrified as rescue workers fight to bring her to safety, and her mother, wearing a red top, crying as firefighters help pull her from the wreck.

The three Groves' were taken to hospital. Ms Groves and Sage suffered moderate injuries and Milo had only minor injuries. All were said to be in stable condition.

Rescued: The ten-year-old girl is wheeled from the scene to a medivac helicopter. She and her mother and ten-month-old sister are all listed in stable condition

The California Highway Patrol said Allison lived in Grover Beach, California and his truck was registered to R&R Wrecking Company in Arroyo Grande.

The accident, which is currently under investigation, occurred along U.S. Route 101 in rural Buellton, about 25 miles north of Santa Barbara.

Because of the accident, the highway was closed in both directions.

The San Juan Capistrano family was taken to nearby Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries, 920kvec.com reports.

Ended in flame: The big-rig fell over the 100-foot bridge in Southern California and burst into flame after landing in the creek. Its driver died at the scene

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