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In The 1920s, A Truck Driver Was Saved From Drowning By A Pig He Was Driving To Slaughter
A man improbably saved from certain death by an animal was able to get a second chance at life
In life-threatening situations, those with the will to live become incredibly resourceful to save themselves. That was certainly the case in 1920s Pennsylvania when a truck driver carrying a load of pigs fell into a river after a bridge collapsed. Unable to swim, he was able to survive by clutching to one of the swine until it was able to haul him to safety.
On January 18, 1924, the Herrs Island Bridge, spanning the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania, collapsed. At the time the tragedy struck, truck driver John Riemenschneider was driving a load of 60 pigs over the body of water to a slaughterhouse. He, his vehicle and his cargo all plunged into the icy water. Unfortunately, so did his assistant, John Richards, who drowned in the accident.
Riemenschneider couldn’t swim. It was just three days after his 37th birthday and he had a wife and a young son at home (two other sons had previously died at early ages). The Allegheny River, at an average width of more than a third of a mile, was no joke. He was in trouble.
Keeping his wits about him, the truck driver thrashed about in the water amongst a veritable herd of pigs. Sadly, only half of them would survive the ordeal, but he picked a winner. Wrapping his arms around a black and white porker close to him, the animal valiantly paddled for its own survival with a passenger.
Miraculously, the pig reached shore with an exhausted and jubilant Riemenschneider on its back. The man it saved was beyond thankful for the animal’s heroism, telling reporters, “I’m going to buy that hog and take it home. He’ll never see the inside of a slaughterhouse.”
The slaughterhouse confirmed that they would allow Riemenschneider to purchase the animal if he so wished. Unfortunately, it’s not known if he followed through on that vow.
Afforded a second chance at life, Riemenschneider made the most of it. Records show that he lived another quarter of a century, passing away in 1949 at the age of 62. If there’s any justice in the world, the pig was right there beside him for as many of those extra years as possible, having earned its own right to have some extra time on earth.
