Originally Posted by BillyGoatGruff
Originally Posted by JeffA
[Linked Image from floridamemory.com][Linked Image from tampabay.com]

Richard Hornbuckle’s car rests where it skidded to a stop 14 inches from the edge of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, struck by the freighter Summit Venture in St. Petersburg on May 9, 1980. The freighter rammed the southbound span of the bridge, collapsing a 1,200-foot length of the bridge and sending several cars and a Greyhound bus into the water. Thirty-five people died.


I hate driving over those big bridges. Worst one I can think of off the top of my head was in Charleston, SC. I don't remember the name of the bridge or what it goes over, but I didn't like driving that thing one little bit. Engineering marvels though!

The top section of that bridge was expanded steel grating, when you went from pavement to steel your tires howled..
It use to spook me every time we went over that bridge when I was a kid.

The ship hit the bridge during a storm, that steel would have been wet and slick. The guy was quite fortunate to get'er whoa'ed.

[Linked Image from islander.org]

I was there the morning it fell, I drove as close as I could get to the bridge but couldn't even get a glimpse of the fallen section or the ship.

It's way up there, the folks in the cars and the bus that drove over the edge had plenty of air time to know what was happening.
Of course it's a ship channel there, it's about 75-80 feet deep.

[Linked Image from islander.org]