Truck gets wedged in tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn after ignoring warnings

NEW YORK — A driver who took an 18-wheel tractor-trailer inside a tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn on Thursday despite height restriction warnings got wedged in, officials said, causing a massive traffic jam until early afternoon when emergency personnel were able to remove it.

The truck driver entered the Hugh L. Carey tunnel going toward Brooklyn around 10 a.m. and made it a little more than halfway before getting stuck, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.

Tunnel personnel told the driver not to go into the tunnel, officials said. There were also signs warning of a height restriction and a big “X” at the entrance, to show that the tunnel was not to be entered.

Parts of the truck and trailer had to be removed with cutting equipment so that it could be towed out. It was out of the tunnel by around noon, the MTA said.

The driver was issued several summonses.