Training to escape trucks when trapped underwater

It’s one of the more frightening situations truck drivers must contemplate: being trapped in one’s truck when the vehicle falls off a bridge and starts sinking in the cold, dark waters below. This very scenario occurred to truck driver Joseph Chen last week as he crossed over Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Though he escaped his water-logged vehicle and avoided drowning, he died while being airlifted to the hospital. Yet his tragic tale brings to mind a question: how DOES one escape from a sinking truck? Believe it or not, the U.S. Marines Corps specifically trains their motor transport personnel to do so. (Photos courtesy of the Department of Defense)