Penske Rental Truck Gets Stuck Under Bridge. Now People Are Blaming The Company

A Penske rental truck crashes into a bridge in Atlanta, and the internet wants to know who to blame. Here’s what we know.

Facebook creator ATL Uncensored – Atlanta News posted the video two weeks ago. “The sign is literally right there… how??” the caption reads.

The sign the creator is referring to is the “9’-10’’” sign posted on the front of the overpass, which indicates that its height clearance is less than the usual 14-16 feet clearance required by large trucks.

Penske Truck Crashes Into Atlanta Bridge

In the comments section of the post, viewers speculated about what might’ve happened to cause this crash and who or what entity is at fault.

“From the looks of the overpass, they aren’t the first ones to do it,” said one viewer.

“It’s a rental and the person driving it isn’t experienced driving larger trucks for clearance,” speculated a second viewer.

“I know exactly where that’s at,” said a third viewer. “Definitely warning signs about clearance, Clarence!”

Other viewers brought nothing to the conversation but jokes. “I don’t believe you can park there, sir,” joked one person.

“Peeled like a can of green beans,” said a second person.

“The hydraulic lifts on that overpass failed,” a third person said.

A Recent History of Trucks Crashing Into Atlanta Bridges

A similar incident happened back in 2023 when a truck that was more than four-feet too tall and 40,000 pounds overweight crashed into the Mount Vernon Highway Bridge, which had to be permanently closed and replaced after the accident. Less than a year later, a dump truck crashed into the same bridge before its replacement could even officially open. 

A dump truck was also involved in a 2021 accident outside of Atlanta. The truck hit a highway overpass with such force that the structure was pushed back six feet. A Georgia transportation official said the department’s engineers hadn’t seen that happen before.

When this happens to a commercial big rig, liability generally depends on a variety of factors, including whether the company that owned the truck provided a safe route or if the driver independently ignored height restrictions. The process usually involves investigations, insurance assessments, and engineering reports.

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Things work a bit differently when a driver crashes a rented truck. If the driver is determined to be at fault for the crash, they’ll need to have opted into the rental company’s insurance to be covered in an instance like this. If the driver opted out, they would need personal auto insurance that covers large trucks.

Reyes Law on Instagram tackled this question in a video seven months ago. The attorney says someone involved in an accident like this is likely to be covered fully by Penske’s insurance policy—unless their actions leading up to the crash were “grossly negligent.”

 

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