Thursday night's bridge collapse has put a spotlight on truckers who carry oversized loads. Preliminary reports suggest that a truck that clipped a bridge support is what caused the spectacular collapse.
During an emergency, first responders are trained to work quickly to save lives. They’re deliberate and methodical.
People in emotional distress after a fire or accident need someone with different training. For them an emergency department may send a chaplain. The Police and Fire Chaplin's Training Academy in Seattle just graduated a new crop of chaplains for emergency departments around the country.
A parade of people who live and work near the collapsed bridge in Mt. Vernon continued to visit the scene today to get a first-hand look at the damage, snap photos and swap news about the accident.
“I’m scared to drive over other bridges,” said Jerry Olmstead, who works in Mt. Vernon and crosses this bridge several times a week. “What if another bridge in Washington goes?”
Getting federal money to repair the country’s aging transportation infrastructure is getting increasingly difficult. The Atlantic Wire pulled together the numbers.
It's still not entirely clear what caused I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington to collapse Thursday night. Nor is it clear, despite media reports, how strong the bridge was before it broke. What is clear is that, had the state needed to repair it, getting federal money to do so would be an uphill climb.
Just prior to the I-5 bridge collapse Thursday night north of Seattle, eyewitnesses report an oversized load struck a portion of the bridge’s steel superstructure. That’s the frame that’s key to holding the bridge up.
