Nicki and Steve Cunningham hung 80 feet above the rocky Malad Gorge for over an hour after strong winds knocked their vehicle over the edge.
Terrifying video of a pick up truck dangling off an Idaho bridge left millions in shock this week. Now the couple who were inside are talking about what it was like to be hanging high above a gorge for more than an hour. Nicki and Steve Cunningham hung 80 feet above the rocky Malad Gorge for over an hour after strong winds knocked their vehicle over the edge.
“When that wind starts kicking out up there, it can be very dangerous. And we’ve driven that quite a few times — never had problems. This time, just the wind hit it wrong, and I couldn’t get it under control,” Steve told Inside Edition.
The only thing keeping them and their two dogs from falling to their deaths were two safety chains connected to their camper trailer, which lay sprawled on its side on the bridge. The couple called 911 and snapped a photo from inside, showing their belongings strewn in the gorge below.
“I grabbed my phone, and I took a picture, because nobody’s gonna believe that’s us hanging over this looking at all our stuff dropping out of our trailer, out of the truck. That’s our stuff, and we could be down there any minute,” Nicki told Inside Edition.
The Magic Valley Paramedics Special Operations Rescue Team pulled the couple to safety.
“They were super thankful that we were there to help them, and I’m sure they were very relieved to see the actual ground” supervisor Chad Smith told Inside Edition.
The Cunninghams were living out of the camper-trailer and lost all of their belongings in the ordeal.
“We lost everything in our trailer. We just bought a whole bunch of food and all that got lost — all our keepsakes, everything I had,” Nicki said.
“We’re homeless at this point, and it’s pretty emotional right now. We’re trying just to get through this,” Steve said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the couple get back on their feet.
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