Shawn Williams, a 53-year-old driver from Virginia, had a rough Thursday morning commute in Central New York. His box truck met the Onondaga Lake Parkway railroad bridge at around 7:45 a.m., and as you might expect from a truck versus a bridge encounter, the bridge won. Convincingly.
When Onondaga County Sheriff’s deputies asked Williams why he plowed into a bridge that the state of New York has essentially wrapped in caution tape and flashing neon, his explanation was refreshingly simple: he didn’t see the signs.
The signs. All 50-plus of them.
To be fair, it was early. We’ve all missed a turn before. But missing 50 warning signs, multiple countermeasures, and what the state DOT has apparently turned into a full multimedia awareness campaign is the kind of achievement that deserves its own category on a driving record.
Williams was heading back to Virginia when the incident occurred, which means he drove all the way from the South, presumably without incident, only to find his arch-nemesis in a Syracuse suburb. He was issued three tickets for failure to obey a traffic control device. Three. Because one ticket per sign cluster apparently seemed excessive.
New York Has Been Trying Really, Really Hard Here
This crash happened less than two months after New York State DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez stood at a news conference in Salina in mid-February and announced that new, larger, brighter signs had been installed to finally stop trucks from hitting the bridge. The ink on that press release was barely dry.
Since 2022, the bridge has been hit 34 times. It was struck eight times in 2025 alone, which, depending on how you look at it, is either alarming or proof that the bridge has more consistent contact with vehicles than some people have with their in-laws.
The bridge clears at 10 feet 9 inches. A standard box truck runs anywhere from 10 to 13.5 feet tall. Tractor-trailers can push 13.5 feet or more. Basically, if you are driving anything taller than a generous sedan, this bridge is not your friend, and the state of New York has gone to considerable lengths to communicate that.
New York also recently raised the stakes for bridge strikes. Starting in February, hitting a bridge went from carrying zero license points (yes, zero, as in absolutely no consequence, which explains a lot) to eight points. Reach 10 points in 24 months and your license gets suspended. Hit 11 points and it’s an automatic suspension. Williams, with his three tickets, is presumably doing some mental math right now.
The good news, such as it is: the bridge came through without a scratch. Williams’ truck took the damage. No injuries were reported.
The bridge, unbothered, continues its undefeated streak.