Authorities say that three people were killed and four were hurt when a bridge in Mississippi that was being taken down suddenly fell on Wednesday afternoon. It was a “work site accident.”
Late Wednesday night, Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on X that the state had “confirmed multiple injuries and at least three fatalities from the accident.” Tate said that first rescuers from the district and county sheriff’s offices in Simpson County, as well as “other state assets,” were at the scene of the collapsed bridge.
A statement from the Simpson County Sheriff’s Office said that they were told about the bridge fall around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The sheriff’s office said that when deputies got there, they found “three construction workers dead and at least three more severely injured.”
Simpson County Coroner Terry Tutor said that the three men who died were named Kevin Malone, Charles Ingleharte, and Charles Badger. Tutor said that the four hurt people were taken to nearby hospitals.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) said in a statement that the Strong River Bridge had been closed to traffic since September 18 so that work could begin on a new set of spans. MDOT says the bridge fell during a “work site accident” while contractors were tearing it down. In a new release, the project was put on hold “until an investigation can be completed.” The reason for the collapse is still unknown.
T.L. Wallace Construction Company was hired to do work on the bridge as part of a bigger project to fix up the city’s infrastructure. The company said in a statement that they are heartbroken over the deaths of their three workers, who “were cherished members of our community and our team.” The company is also helping with the investigation.
MDOT said that an inspector who was in charge of the job was there at the time of the accident but was not hurt.
It was part of State Route 149 and crossed the Strong River. It was in the central south of Mississippi, about 40 miles south of Jackson.
Maria Lehman, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, told CNN Thursday that the Strong River Bridge, which was built in 1935, was one of only 3% of Mississippi bridges that were found to be in overall bad shape.
Lehman said that while Mississippi is doing a good job of taking care of its old infrastructure, the overall state of bridges in the US is worrying, with many being in fair or poor shape. A new report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association says that about 6.8% of US bridges are in poor condition and about 49% are in good condition. This shows that bridges across the country need a lot of repairs and upgrades.
Pete Buttigieg, the secretary of the US Department of Transportation, wrote on X Wednesday that he had “been briefed on the premature fall during demolition of a bridge He also said that the Federal Highway Administration and state officials are both looking into what happened.
Source: Mississippi bridge being prepared for demolition collapses, killing 3 and injuring 4 others
