A person was pulled from the Ohio River near the 2nd Street Bridge Monday afternoon and rushed to the hospital, according to Louisville police, who said they are still working to determine what happened. MetroSafe reported that the rescue took place around 4:10 p.m. near the span, and the person's condition has not been made public.
The Louisville Fire Department rescued the person from the water, with the Louisville Metro Police Department's River Unit assisting in the effort, as reported by WDRB. The person was taken to UofL Hospital, police said, and WDRB has indicated it plans to update the story as more details emerge. LMPD has not released information about how the person ended up in the river.
Crews Reached the Victim Within Minutes
The rescue was covered by WHAS11. The person was transported to UofL Hospital. The LMPD River Unit patrols roughly 40 miles of the Ohio River along Louisville Metro, handling water rescues, per the department's own account of its operations.
The Louisville Fire Department, founded in 1858 as the third-oldest fully paid fire department in the country, maintains six specialized technical rescue companies trained for water, high-angle, trench, and confined-space emergencies, according to the department's Strategic Management Plan. That technical capability was on display in March 2024, when Bryce Carden helped rescue a truck driver after a multi-vehicle crash on the same bridge, as reported by AP News.
A Bridge Already Under Scrutiny
Monday's rescue unfolded beneath a structure that has drawn increasing safety attention in recent years. The George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, known locally as the 2nd Street Bridge, opened on October 31, 1929, cost $4.8 million to build, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, according to Transportation History. The century-old span carries nearly 35,000 vehicles daily in 2024 on U.S. Route 31 between Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana, per the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Just last week, Hoodline reported that Indiana Governor Mike Braun had petitioned federal transportation officials to block Kentucky's proposed $8 million redesign of the bridge, which would narrow it from four lanes to three wider lanes with a median barrier to address longstanding lane and railing safety concerns. The bridge's lane and railing safety concerns date back years.
Part of a Busy Summer on the River
Monday's incident adds to the work of Louisville-area water rescue crews. Regional rescue activity has continued elsewhere on the Ohio River as well.
The circumstances that led to Monday's rescue near the 2nd Street Bridge remain unclear, and police are still working to determine what happened. Hoodline previously covered a grimmer outcome for another Louisville water search, when a kayaker vanished at Long Run Park in July and the search for that individual turned into a dive operation. No such update has been issued in Monday's case, and police say the investigation into what happened is ongoing.
