Edward H. White, the Livermore Falls man who escaped his burning truck by jumping 100 feet into the Merrimack River in Haverhill, Mass., on Wednesday, remained in an induced coma Friday at a Boston hospital.
The 37-year-old’s mother said White suffered serious burns on his arms, legs and face but that he was expected to survive.
Media interest in the dramatic story has been so great the past few days that White’s mother said she had to request that Brigham and Women’s Hospital block all calls coming into his room.
In addition to questions from reporters, White’s mother said she has been fielding calls from her son’s friends who heard about the crash through news reports.
“I’ve had a lot of people call and they want to rush right out to the hospital,” she said. “I’m asking visitors to please wait. He’s in an induced coma right now. They’re starting to lower his morphine to bring him out of it. But he’s in so much pain.”
White’s mother did not want her name revealed for fear of further telephone calls or visits from reporters around New England. She said her son is engaged to be married and that he has two sons, one in Livermore Falls, the other in Florida.
Police said White was driving north on Interstate 495 early Wednesday night when he and a car traveling in the same direction collided. White’s mother said she has since learned that her son was taking a sip of coffee when his rig veered into the center lane.
After the collision, the tractor-trailer White was driving crashed into the side of a bridge, and the front end dangled over the edge. Moments later, the truck burst into flames, catching White’s shirt on fire.
“He had no choice but to jump,” his mother said Friday. “He either had to jump or he would have burned to death.”
White landed in the Merrimack River 100 feet below. He then swam to a small island roughly 100 yards downstream, rescuers said. White then waited 35 minutes before a harbormaster boat operator steered paramedics to the island.
When he was rescued, White was awake but suffering from burns, according to witnesses. His shoes and shirt were gone. He was also exhausted after the wreck, the drop into the river and the long swim to the island.
“Miraculously, there were no broken bones,” his mother said.
She said doctors initially feared they might have to amputate White’s hands as a result of his injuries. However, the procedure was determined to be unnecessary on Friday. White’s vital signs were steady at the Boston hospital, his mother said, although he was still breathing through a tube.
The crash remained under investigation. When he crashed, White was driving for Lily Transportation and returning from a delivery for the Poland Spring Bottling Co. in Maine.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Richard Poirier said White’s rig collided with a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse while both drivers were headed north on I-495.
The driver of the Eclipse was not hurt.
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