The historic Robert Parker Coffin Bridge in Long Grove has been hit again, marking at least the 66th time the bridge has been struck and the 2nd time this year.
The latest bridge hit took place at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the Chatterbox of Long Grove Facebook site.
The box truck didn’t become stuck after the truck’s roof struck the bridge canopy but was able to reverse out, witnesses said.
The damage to the roof of the vehicle was clearly noticeable, witnesses said.
It’s unclear at this time who owns the unmarked vehicle that struck the bridge on Thursday.
Photos from the scene show that two Lake County Sheriff squads arrived on the scene to assist with the incident.
The bridge was previously hit on May 20 when a box truck belonging to Northwest Trucks Inc. in Palatine attempted to drive onto the Robert Parker Coffin Bridge, at which point it abruptly struck the bridge canopy.
The truck became wedged under the bridge canopy and the driver attempted to reverse out.
A Lake County sheriff’s squad car arrived with its lights activated and a deputy used his intercom to tell the driver, “Stop, it’s not moving.”
The driver initially attempted to lower the air pressure in the tires, but it was unsuccessful, and a tow truck was called to remove the truck.
The bridge was blocked for approximately three hours during the May 20 incident.
Before that, a white Toys for Tots box truck struck the bridge on Dec. 20, but was not stuck and was able to reverse.
A small truck carrying an oversized, vertically stacked load struck the top girders of the bridge on October 30.
Surveillance video showed the truck’s oversized load hitting the top of the bridge before stopping and immediately reversing to free itself.
On October 16, a camera at Neumann’s Cigars and More showed a white box truck traveling westbound on Robert Parker Coffin Road approaching Schaeffer Road.
The cigar lounge’s camera captured a truck’s aerial lift hitting the bridge, which rocked the truck’s back end.
Also, on September 26, the 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 buses from using the bridge,” Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli has said previously.
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 scraped 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.