![]() The state’s DOT had done a ship-bridge collision survey of its bridges across the Arkansas River, but concluded the probability of a ship striking the outer pier of the I-40 bridge was small, according to Justin M. The I-40 bridge was built in 1967 and was rated satisfactory by the Oklahoma DOT. Holloway also said the NTSB will investigate what factors the age of the Oklahoma bridge and its construction played in the accident. Love, a 2,600-hp towboat, was built in 1955 and purchased by Magnolia in 1991. In addition to the captain’s medical condition, the NTSB will also investigate the history and maintenance of the towboat, Holloway said. The five crewmembers onboard were not hurt. When the accident occurred, the captain was alone in the pilothouse, Holloway said. About five to 10 minutes before the collision, a crewmember spoke to the captain, who said he was okay, according to Keith Holloway, spokesman for the NTSB. Suydam said that the captain had slept nine hours in the previous two days, but that lack of sleep was not a factor in the accident. He had tested negative in alcohol and drug tests performed by Magnolia immediately after the accident, Meador said. Two weeks after the accident, the captain was being treated at the cardiac unit in a hospital in Jackson, Miss. Meador did say, however, that neither the captain nor the company was aware before the accident that he had a heart condition. Jennifer Meador, a spokesperson for Magnolia, said that her company could not comment on the captain’s condition before the accident. The NTSB will neither confirm nor deny the story. The towboat’s captain told authorities he blacked out just before the collision, according to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation.Ī local newspaper, which sat in on a closed NTSB meeting on June 1, reported that Ken Suydam, the NTSB’s chief investigator, said that the towboat’s captain had a heart blockage. The two piers struck were 200 feet from the bridge pier marking the west side of the 300-foot-wide navigation channel. Four people were rescued by men fishing in the river below the bridge. As a result, 10 vehicles plunged off the 60-foot-high bridge into the river, killing 14. The towboat veered out of the navigation channel, and the two barges struck the second and third piers in the 1,988-foot-long bridge, causing a 580-foot-long section of the bridge to collapse, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. of Vicksburg, Miss., struck the bridge at 0748 on May 26 as it was traveling upstream at about 4 to 6 knots. Love, which is owned by Magnolia Marine Transport Co. The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states survey all bridges over waterways to assess the risk of collision with vessels, but the Federal Highway Administration did not adopt this recommendation. It hit the bridge and the bridge collapsed and that was it,″ Horn said.The collision renewed concerns about the protection of highway and railroad bridges from collisions with vessels. Horn said it’s possible that seven tractor-trailers and nine vehicles went into the water during the heavy downpour. ``He said he was driving along, and the next thing he knows, there was no pavement under him, and that he was headed for a concrete pillar of some sort and hit the water,″ Wetz said. One patient told him he only recalled the bridge collapsing, Wetz said. One is a 62-year-old man, and two are in their 30s or 40s, he said. The area is about 100 miles east of Oklahoma City and about 35 miles west of the Arkansas state line.Ĭhad Wetz of Muscogee Medical Center said at least three patients had been taken to his hospital, two were in stable condition and one was in critical condition. It could have been hit before dawn and later collapsed under the weight of the vehicles, she said. She said it wasn’t clear precisely when the bridge was hit. Horn said the bridge that collapsed was about 20 years old. She said that bridge had since been closed. Several cars were in the water, and dive teams were on the way to the scene, in the southwest part of the state, said Sam Graves, communications officer for the Highway Patrol.Ī second bridge, at Webbers Falls, where traffic would have tried to pass after the first bridge collapsed, also was hit Sunday morning and was shaking but hadn’t collapsed, Webbers Falls Mayor Jewell Horn said. The Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said they were in a state of emergency. ![]() (AP) _ A barge knocked out a 400-foot section of a bridge on Interstate 40 over the Arkansas River early Sunday, sending several cars plunging into the water, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.Īt least three people were being treated for injuries, hospital officials said, and more ambulances were arriving. ![]()
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