Jul 5, 2009 10:27 pm US/Central
Bridge Collapse Sends Dozens to Hospital
Police: Preliminary cause of collapse believed to be structural failure
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (CBS) ―
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Michael Moses, of Griffith, holds onto his daughters, Myia, 5, left, and Brittney, 9, after being reunited with Brittney. The family was on the bridge when it collapsed.
Post-Tribune/CBS
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Spotlights from emergency vehicles provide light for emergency personnel Saturday at Hidden Lake.
Post-Tribune/CBS
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Firefighter Kelly Jania from Merrillville and Ross Township walks across the partially submerged bridge after completing a search for people after a pedestrian bridge collapsed into Hidden Lake.
Post-Tribune/CBS
A pedestrian bridge collapsed after an Indiana fireworks show – dumping dozens of people in a lake.
It happened in Merrillville. Officials there say there were too many people on the bridge when it gave way.
"I was on the bridge, we all fell down….someone was shaking the bridge real hard," said one bridge victim.
"I heard massive screaming, everyone was screaming – everybody was terrified," said another.
Another bridge victim said a lot of people were panicking and shifting around.
About 25 people were hurt, but they're all expected to recover.
The question now is: why did this happen?
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports.
Nikee Lewis is recovering at home Sunday morning with 10 stitches in her head.
"I blacked out and don't remember anything except waking up in the ambulance with my head busted and blood in my face,: Lewis said.
But the 17-year-old from Merillville knows she was walking across this footbridge with about 80 other people who were leaving the fireworks show when the bridge collapsed.
"My cousin didn't have a good feeling about it, so she said, 'let's turn around' and as we turned around to get off, that's when the bridge went down," Lewis said.
Seth Argullin of Hammond, Ind. says a cable hit him and ripped the skin right off his arm.
"We got about midway to the bridge and it was a couple of people on the bridge shaking it back and forth, and all of a sudden we hit the water," he said.
Phil Toper, a fire investigator for Ross Township, was one of the first responders on the scene, almost immediately, after the bridge gave way.
"There was people laying on the ground, a lot of pandemonium, people screaming, crying – there was people in the water," he said.
In all, police say 50 people fell into the water; about 25 of them were transported to area hospitals.
"Our first reaction was to jump in the water and get the people out that was in there, as they were the most critical – we feared them being drowned," Toper said.
Diana Rodriguez was a witness to the event and says her niece thought she'd never see her mom again.
"She's a little kid, she didn't know if her mother was alive or not – they couldn't find her for 35 minutes," Rodriguez said.
About 50 emergency vehicles responded, and dive teams helped pull victims from the water. A human chain in the water was set up to search for potential victims but nobody was located.
Lake Ridge and Crown Point provided mutual aid for Merrillville fire protection. Northbound Broadway was shut down during the rescue operation.
Emergency vehicles were hampered in rescue operations because of the crowd, police reported on radio. At least one helicopter was dispatched to provide lighting.
"Usually when this event ends we have two exits from the park and those have double lines of traffic going out, so it could not have happened at a worse time," said Ross Township Fire Service fire marshal Michael Sneiderwine. "Luckily, we had ambulances and fire trucks on the scene that were able to get to people quickly enough; but there was a hampered response due to chaos of people leaving and nobody being aware there was an emergency going on."
Sneiderwine said the water beneath the bridge was approximately seven feet deep.
Firefighters used megaphones to find people and reunite separated loved ones. Then divers walked the bottom of the lake and determined that no one had drowned.
Officials say police were monitoring both ends of the bridge but the crowd rushed by.
"They were able apparently to apparently push past the police officers putting extreme overload on the bridge," said Ross Township trustee John Rooda.
Others on the scene say some of those crossing the bridge purposely exacerbated the problem.
"There was a lot of people jumping on the bridge at the other end," Rodriguez said. She added there were people swaying the bridge.
Police say about 10,000 people were believed to be in Hidden Lake when the bridge collapsed.
Ross Township Fire Service Lt. Phil Topor said injuries ranged from lacerations to broken bones.
The park was closed Sunday as officials cleaned up the area and tried to pinpoint exactly what part of the suspension bridge failed. The park was expected to re-open Monday morning. People who lost their belongings in the water will be able to try and claim them at a lost and found. The bridge crossing will remain closed for now.
The wooden bridge, which is suspended by cables, collapsed at Hidden Lake Park in Merrillville, about 45 miles southeast of Chicago, around 10 p.m. as spectators were leaving a fireworks display. The park is at 63rd Avenue and Broadway in Merrillville.
Some witnesses and their families question why no one stopped crowding on the walkway.
"There shouldn't have been that many people on that bridge. It's shaky as it is," Nicole Wiberg, a victim's friend, said.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones and Mike Puccinelli contributed to this story. Associated Press and STNG Wire contributed to this story.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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