Dennison said he should not have to pay restitution. He argued that if it was not him going over the cliff, it would have been a family of five during the winter. He said the guardrail is too short and did not even slow him down.

      Dennison argues that he was not driving dangerously Sunday night before he and his truck went over the guardrail on Old County Road and into the quarry.

      Tower said Monday that Dennison was doing 360-degree turns and spinning the tires of his 1985 Chevrolet truck just before 11 p.m. at the intersection of Limerock Street and Old County Road just before the crash. Dennison said he was barely going 30 mph when his truck slipped on the wet road surface.

      He said that the truck slid to the right and he overcompensated, swerving left and striking the guardrail. He said he hit the brakes, but they didn't stop the truck. Dennison added that the truck is a powerful hot rod with special tires that do not grip well in the rain. He said he only expected to bump the guardrail.

      "I just kept going right up over the top of it!" he said.

      As the truck jumped the guardrail and then plunged into the quarry, Dennison said he thought, "I'm gonna die! I've got to do something so I don't die."

      He said that as the truck was falling, he dove out the passenger side window, clearing the truck just 10 or 15 feet before impact. He said he positioned himself with one hand on the steering wheel, one hand on the seat and pushed himself off the driver's side door with his feet.

      "I timed it to right before it hit," he said. "It was all instinct and reflex. I reacted quick and survived. That's what it takes to be a survivor, I guess."

      The quarry surface is covered with a mat of plants and debris up to 10 feet thick. Below the mat is 100 feet of water. There are places where a person can walk on the surface, and others where is it just water.

      Dennison said that when he landed, he was totally submerged in water and debris. He thrashed and struggled, swimming and pulling on weeds until he managed to pull himself up on the relatively solid ground. He said he turned around and saw the truck's taillights glowing as its rear was sticking up out of the muck.

      "I would still be in the truck if I didn't jump," he said.

      He had broken his hip and some ribs in the fall, but did not realize it at first. As he waited for help, his pants became saturated with water and heavy, so he took them off. He said he figured his only chance for survival was to climb out over the garbage pile on one side of the quarry and leave the quarry through the Rockland dump. Then he found that he could not stand up, and realized that his hip was broken, so he had to wait for help.

      He saw the blue flashing lights of a police cruiser come up from Limerock Street, then pass by. He watched the lights fade away.

      "I thought I was all done," he said. "I was going to die down there."

      Then the police car came back and stopped. Dennison yelled for help and heard a police officer above say, "Oh my God, there's someone down there!"

      He said the rescue was a long, slow process. For a while, he said, he just saw a lot of people at the top of the quarry shining their lights down.

      After the first hour, he was in a lot of pain.

      A paramedic and a rope rescue specialist rappelled down the cliff to help Dennison. Later, a fire department inflatable boat was lowered into the quarry. Dennison was put in the boat and waited there about 20 minutes. Then he was brought up by a 35-ton crane from Dragon Products and taken to the hospital.

      Dennison had surgery on his hip Monday. He said the doctors thought at first that he might need an artificial hip, but they put three pins in his hip instead. He hopes to be out of the hospital by the end of the week. He was listed in fair and stable condition Wednesday at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport.

      Commercial diver Charlie Weidman was lowered into the quarry at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in a metal basket by an Art Henry crane. Weidman dove into the quarry waters, saying later that it was pitch black under the water, and attached a cable to the truck's frame. The truck was then raised out of the quarry. Part of Old County Road was closed while the truck was removed, and spectators looked on from the city dump across the quarry.

      City Manager Tom Hall said the city will see whether Dennison's insurance will cover the costs or it may seek restitution through the court system.