A box truck associated with Toys for Tots struck the historic Robert Parker Coffin Bridge in Long Grove Thursday afternoon, marking over 60 times that the bridge has been hit.
The incident happened just after 12 p.m. on Thursday and was caught on surveillance video.
The video, captured by Neumann’s Cigars and More, showed a white box truck traveling westbound on Robert Parker Coffin Road approaching Schaeffer Road.
The truck attempted to drive onto the Robert Parker Coffin Bridge, at which point it abruptly struck the bridge canopy.
The truck was not stuck under the bridge and the driver reversed the vehicle and stayed at the scene until a sheriff’s deputy arrived.
A witness told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that a United States Marine was driving the truck for Toys for Tots.
The bridge appeared to have sustained minor damage and the truck was also damaged.
Neumann’s Cigars and More said it was at least the 63rd time the bridge had been struck.
On October 30, a small truck carrying an oversized, vertically stacked load struck the top girders of the bridge.
Surveillance video showed the truck’s oversized load hitting the top of the bridge before stopping and immediately reversing to free itself.
The cigar lounge, which has another location in Libertyville, has been keeping tabs on previous bridge hits on its Facebook page.
On October 16, their camera captured a truck’s aerial lift hitting the bridge, which rocked the truck’s back end.
Also on September 26, video showed the top load of a van hitting the bridge.
“There are numerous signs informing drivers of the height restriction and signs prohibiting trucks and busses from using the bridge,” Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli has said previously.
In July, a large box truck became wedged under the bridge and had to have a tow truck remove it.
It was the second time in just three days that the bridge was struck.
At least two other vehicles were also involved in hitting the bridge in June. In those cases, both oversized trucks struck the bridge.
Both incidents were relatively minor but a tow truck was needed to remove one of the trucks, which became wedged under the bridge.
The bridge, formerly known as the Long Grove Covered Bridge, was renamed in September 2022 to the Robert Parker Coffin Bridge after Robert Parker Coffin, who designed the bridge cover.
The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been struck well over 60 times by oversized vehicles since 2018.
In June 2023, a party bus became the 50th vehicle to hit the historic bridge after the vehicle scrapped the bridge’s canopy, causing the bus’ roof air conditioning unit to rip off.
The bus did not remain at the scene despite its roof air conditioning unit being ripped off and falling onto the roadway.
A Lake County sheriff’s deputy stopped the bus a quarter-mile away in front of The Chatter Box of Long Grove.