The historic Robert Parker Coffin Bridge in Long Grove has been hit by a large oversized trailer, marking at least the 69th time the bridge has been struck.
The incident happened around 10:50 p.m. on Thursday and was partially caught on surveillance video.
The video, captured by Neumann’s Cigars and More, showed the aftermath of the hit, which involved a white pickup truck pulling a large trailer.
The trailer apparently scraped the bridge canopy and the driver of the truck stopped the vehicle and got out after it occurred.
Neumann’s Cigars and More said their nighttime security service alerted them to the hit. The bridge was last struck during another nighttime incident.
The bridge was previously hit in June when a box truck’s roof struck the bridge canopy. The damage to the roof of the vehicle was clearly noticeable, witnesses said.
The bridge was also 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 December 20 but did not get 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, 2024.
Surveillance video showed the truck’s oversized load hitting the top of the bridge before stopping and immediately reversing to free itself.
A camera at Neumann’s Cigars and More showed a white box truck traveling westbound on Robert Parker Coffin Road approaching Schaeffer Road when the truck’s aerial lift hit the bridge, which rocked the truck’s back end, on October 16, 2024.
“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.