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Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapses; Multiple Fatalities Feared Miami Pedestrian Bridge Collapses; Multiple Fatalities Feared
(35 minutes later)
A newly installed pedestrian crossway over a busy Miami thoroughfare at the Florida International University campus collapsed on Thursday afternoon, crushing cars and killing several people, local officials said. MIAMI — A newly installed pedestrian crossway over a busy Miami thoroughfare at the Florida International University campus collapsed on Thursday afternoon, crushing cars and killing several people, local officials said.
Between six and 10 people may have died in the accident, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, told the CBS television affiliate in Miami. Mr. Nelson cited no one specifically, but said he had spoken to the university president. At a news conference, local officials said Thursday afternoon that eight people had been transported to a hospital and that eight vehicles had been trapped under the bridge. Some of the vehicles were stopped at a red light at the time the bridge came down.
Lt. Alejandro Camacho, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said in a telephone interview at the scene that there were five or six vehicles crushed underneath the bridge, and officials said that some vehicles were stopped at a red light at the time the bridge came down. “This pedestrian bridge weighs several hundred tons, and it is still on the roadway,” Lt. Alejandro Camacho, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said. “I don’t know what is underneath.”
“This pedestrian bridge weighs several hundred tons, and it is still on the roadway,” he said. “I don’t know what is underneath.” Officials did not confirm the number of dead during a news conference, but Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, told local television affiliates in Miami that six to 10 people may have died in the accident. Mr. Nelson cited no one specifically, but said he had spoken to several local officials.
Lieutenant Camacho said he did not have a number for any fatalities, but added, “There are going to be several, based on the amount of vehicles that are underneath.” “I can tell you that having talked shortly after the collapse to the university president, to the mayor, to the chief of police,” Senator Nelson said, “they are fearing the worst, that there are going to be maybe as many as six deaths, and another number that I heard, it could be upwards of 10.”
Lieutenant Camacho confirmed that multiple fatalities were expected. “There are going to be several,” he said, “based on the amount of vehicles that are underneath.”
Speaking at the news conference, Juan Perez, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said: “We’re not confirming any deaths. What Sen. Nelson says, I cannot answer to.”
As soon as the search and rescue operation was over, Mr. Perez said, the police homicide bureau would take the lead in investigating. He said the state attorney was also “on standby and waiting to come in and work this case with us.”
The bridge had a span of about 174 feet over Southwest Eighth Street, a major thoroughfare that crosses the county, connecting the F.I.U. campus in western Miami-Dade County with the city of Sweetwater.The bridge had a span of about 174 feet over Southwest Eighth Street, a major thoroughfare that crosses the county, connecting the F.I.U. campus in western Miami-Dade County with the city of Sweetwater.
It had been assembled off-site and moved to the location on Saturday. The bridge was still under construction and was not expected to open to the public until the end of the year, a university official said.It had been assembled off-site and moved to the location on Saturday. The bridge was still under construction and was not expected to open to the public until the end of the year, a university official said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said that it would investigate the collapse. The Munilla Construction Management, which is based in Miami, promised in a statement to investigate what went wrong and said it would cooperate with any other inquiry. The engineering firm, FIGG Bridge Engineers, said that it would also cooperate with investigators.
“Barring somebody using it that wasn’t supposed to be there, it’s either an engineering problem or it’s a construction problem, but that’s why you bring in the professionals,” Mr. Nelson told CBS Miami, noting that the deaths had come tragically soon after 17 people were shot at a high school in Parkland.“Barring somebody using it that wasn’t supposed to be there, it’s either an engineering problem or it’s a construction problem, but that’s why you bring in the professionals,” Mr. Nelson told CBS Miami, noting that the deaths had come tragically soon after 17 people were shot at a high school in Parkland.
He said he had spoken to the university president, Mark B. Rosenberg, soon after the collapse, and “you can imagine the near shock that he was almost in.”He said he had spoken to the university president, Mark B. Rosenberg, soon after the collapse, and “you can imagine the near shock that he was almost in.”
The main span of the bridge was lifted from its temporary supports, rotated 90 degrees across several lanes of traffic and lowered into position on Saturday, according to The FIU News.
The distinctive-looking cable bridge was intended to address safety concerns for F.I.U. students who walk to the campus from suburban Sweetwater, where thousands of them live. A student, Alexis Dale, was hit and killed by a vehicle in August while crossing the thoroughfare at a nearby intersection, according to The Miami Herald.
The $14.2 million bridge, including surrounding plazas, was federally funded and part of an effort to make the area more attractive, The Herald reported.