Authorities have determined 'ineffective brakes' caused the driver of a dump truck to crash into the Cuyahoga River last week.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit conducted the inspection on the dump truck driven by Christopher Burgess, 41, of Ravenna, and found that he was unable to stop after his brakes failed.

Burgess died in the crash after police and eyewitnesses said he sacrificed his own life to avoid other motorists and pedestrians as he was traveling down Portage Trail near Akron-Peninsula Road on July 5.

His vehicle nearly missed the Valley Shopping Center before hitting a tree and then coming to a stop in the Cuyahoga River. 

Akron Police Lieutenant Rick Edwards tells AkronNewsNow " There was a total of eight brakes on the tires of this vehicle. Two of them were completely inoperable, and there were three of them that were less than the state standards for a braking system."

Edwards says the defective brakes combined with a heavy load were too much for Burgess to overcome. " With the load he was carrying, the dirt and the sand (an estimated 14 to 16 tons) and hauling that down the incline of Portage Trail hill there was no way Mr. Burgess would have been able to stop that truck," says Edwards.

Previous Coverage:

• UPDATE AUDIO Driver Killed As Truck Plunges Into River