Family Car Forced to Jump Gap as NJ Drawbridge Begins to Rise

A man was forced to gun his engine to jump the gap in a drawbridge that suddenly began rising with his SUV on it.

Terence Naphys was crossing the Middle Thorofare Bridge to get to Cape May with his wife, daughter and a family friend August 1.

As Naphys' Toyota SUV reached a steel grate, the bridge began rising 3 to 6 feet because a vessel was trying to cross beneath it, Lower Township Police say. 

Terence's wife, Jackie, was first to articulate that something was wrong.

"He accelerated and then of course we landed with a big impact on the other side," Jackie Naphys tells CBS Philadelphia.

"Biggest impact I've ever felt in my life, without a doubt," adds Terence Naphys, who says he's taken the bridge every summer for the past 40 years.

No one was hurt. But Naphys says his car sustained upwards of $10,000 in damage. He says he still doesn't understand why they were allowed to be on the rising bridge in the first place.

The police report says the bridge operator did not notice the family's car because of "a strong sun glare." 

The Cape May County Bridge Commission says it is investigating the incident.

Terence Naphys says he will never cross that bridge again.


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