Car Crashes Into Niagara River Gorge In Western New York

Living in and around Western New York teaches you quickly that there are some things you just shouldn't do. Not only is it often against the local culture, but it is also usually not a good practical idea.

For example, you probably shouldn't drive your car on Lake Erie if you can help it. Maybe you should jet ski over Niagara Falls, but this probably won't end well.

It seems that someone didn't get that memo, as a freak car accident resulted in a pickup truck driving into the Niagara River Gorge just north of Niagara Falls.

Car Crashes Into Niagara River Gorge In Western New York

In the late afternoon/early evening hours on Wednesday, the New York State Parks Police reported that a Toyota Tundra pickup had inadvertently veered off Depot Avenue near the Whirlpool Bridge in Niagara Falls, New York, and crashed through a fence. That fence was the edge of the Niagara Gorge, and the pickup felt nearly 300 feet down into the woods around the gorge.

Parks Police officials have advised the 42-year-old man suffered relatively minor injuries. WIVB-TV has reported that the driver, Mark Heugan, was able to get himself out of the crashed truck and walk out of the gorge under his power. He was later taken by ambulance to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo for treatment.

This accident has left many around the region scratching their heads, including the New York State Park Police, New York State Police, and Niagara County District Attorney’s Office, which are now investigating the circumstances surrounding this accident, along with trying to figure out how to get the truck out of the gorge. Western New York based photojournalist RobShots was able to snap some really good photos of the crashed Tundra, you can check those out here.

The Niagara Gorge is a nearly 7-mile-long, more than 300-foot-deep canyon that serves as the border between New York and Ontario as the Niagara River winds its way from Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario.