Driver Found After Truck Falls Into Mississippi River Near Downtown Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities in Minneapolis say the driver of a truck that fell into the Mississippi River early Thursday morning was found hiding in the underbrush nearby.

A city spokesman says that crews responded around 2:30 a.m. to a report of a crash in the area of Main Street Northeast, between 1st and 3rd avenues. At the scene, first responders encountered a woman who was covered in mud and appeared intoxicated.

She told the officers that she was asleep in a truck and woke up to find the vehicle partially submerged in the Mississippi River. The truck had rolled 50 feet down the embankment and into the water.

The woman told police that the truck's driver, a man, was missing. Crews from the fire department and Hennepin County Water Patrol responded to search for the man.

While the vehicle was being towed from the water, police spotted a man hiding in the underbrush about 100 feet away. He was identified as the driver of the truck, the city spokesman says.