A Burlington man drove over Cascade Bridge late Friday night when the brakes on his 1996 Jeep Cherokee failed, then left it there until the next morning.
Burlington police found the abandoned vehicle, still sitting on the bridge, shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday. They also found footprints leading away from the vehicle.
The driver, 29-year-old Nathan Mueller, returned to the scene at about 11 a.m. after police contacted him. The vehicle was then towed away without incident.
Mueller, who drove through the barriers on the north side of the bridge and collided with the barriers on the opposite side, was cited by police for striking fixtures and failure to maintain control of his vehicle.
The jeep rolled backward after hitting the south barriers, coming to rest exactly 779 feet south of Main Street and Cascade Boulevard
Mueller told police he panicked in the aftermath of the accident and walked away from the scene. The 123-year-old bridge has been closed to traffic for more than a decade and is also closed to foot traffic due to safety concerns.
Police say Muller caused $2,000 worth of damage to the barriers cordoning off the bridge and $1,500 to his own vehicle.
Photo courtesy of Chelsea Stevens