The Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse
By Kiya McClenton
The Francis Key Scott Bridge has been one of the main expressways for residents of Baltimore since its opening in 1997. Located in the Port of Baltimore, this expressway held route 695, with more than 30,000 citizens commuting this bridge daily, along with overseas trading through cargo ships. Unfortunately, the traffic in the seas would be the ultimate downfall of the Baltimore Key Bridge after a cargo ship from India owned by the company DALI hit the structure in the early hours of Mar. 26, 2024.
According to Michelle Del Rey’s article for Independent UK, the accident is still being investigated, but most evidence from the voyage data recorder suggests a timeframe for when the cargo ship lost power at the time of the impact with the bridge. The VDR, or “black box”, revealed audio of alarms on the ship going off at 1:24 a.m., with the captain issuing a radio call for tugboat assistance as they were approaching the Francis Scott Key Bridge. At 1:29 a.m. the VDR audio recorded sounds of the ship colliding with another structure. This was the moment when the DALI cargo ship, going just 8 miles per hour, struck the bridge. Shortly thereafter, the captain radioed the U.S. Coast Guard to report the collision and collapse of the bridge.
Many residents of Maryland and citizens of the U.S. took to social media as the news of the accident broke. Videos caught by citizens nearby showed the cargo ship approaching the bridge, colliding with one of its pillars, and the bridge crashing into the water.
Brandon Scott, the Mayor of Baltimore, was one of the first individuals on the scene as he took to news outlets to express the devastation and grief this accident had on citizens. Despite his great efforts to help the city, Mayor Brandon Scott faced unnecessary criticism from people online attacking his race, with attempts to blame him for the accident with no correlation, as stated by Alana Wise. Nonetheless, the mayor continues to do his civic work to help the city through this tragedy.
There weren’t many vehicles traveling on the bridge at the time of the collapse, but several people and unattended vehicles fell in the water, including 8 construction workers, according to the Baltimore Sun. Two of the eight construction workers were rescued, while the six others, most of whom were Latino immigrants, were reported missing following the bridge collapse; the missing victims were subsequently presumed dead. The victims were as follows: Miguel Luna, Jose Mynor Lopez, 26-year-old Dorlian Castillo, 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 24-year-old Carlos Hernandez, and 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes. A vigil was held later in the day on March 26 to honor the victims of the accident. As of April 7, 2024, 3 of the victim’s remains have been recovered.
The structure and development of the bridge were investigated as a cause of the bridge collapse as well. According to structural and civil engineer expert Julian Carter's report to Sky News, the structures of the bridge were "very weak" in certain areas. Originally costing $60.3 million to build, President Joe Biden stated in a press conference that he expects the federal government to pay for the funds to rebuild the bridge. According to Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, the bridge's rebuild could take up to several years, so until then the traffic and cargo have been diverted from the port to the Patapsco River channel.
The collapse of Maryland's Francis Scott Key Bridge was a devastating tragedy to not only the citizens of Maryland but the entire nation. However, with the encouragement from the community and nation coming together, the pain of this tragedy will ease with time.