I, as well as everyone I know here is still is still in shock. From what I understand, the pilot did get on the horn to shore authorities the instant it became apparent that the ship was going to hit. The authorities, who we locals refer to as "the bridge cops" (MTA cops responsible for all the bridges in the Bay region) who did immediately choke off traffic onto the bridge. The vehicles seen in the videos were merely stragglers who scooted through in the last second, it's unclear if any of them took the plunge. (The videos show only a couple vehicles moving on the bridge - which even at that time of night is usually damned near bumper to bumper.) The vehicles that went in the drink were seemingly work vehicles of the maintenance crew standing on the bridge, as were most if not all, of the people who went down. It would seem that the emergency response was prompt and effective, sparing a whole lot more souls from a grizzly end. You gotta remember this ship was moving at a snail's pace, a big irresistible force, but a snail's pace nonetheless.
The main question I have is why didn't the maintenance crew get the word to drop what they're doing and scoot. Maybe they did and simply didn't react fast enough, who knows - we may never know.
I knew when this thread started that the conspiracy theorists and "Chicken Littles" would jump to conclusions and start promulgating wild ideas based entirely on gut feelings, scant information, and prejudices. Hell, they may well be right at the end of the day but it bears keeping quiet about it until the facts are in - if for no other reason than to honor the poor bastards who lost their lives.
And damn good for them to get it shut off so fast. I'm sure one of those cars was a 'f'k it, I'm going'. I'm glad they did their job well and that it wasn't 8am.
