13 seconds in August
Posted on November 12th, 2007 – 3:11 PMBy StarTribune.com Staff
Share your thoughts about this project.
73 Responses to "13 seconds in August"
Thank you for doing this project. Please keep the public updated as new information comes in. Hopefully, once you have all the data you will be able to publish a full page, colored picture in the paper with the updated information. The legislature needs to see this and how it affected these peoples lives!
Thank you for doing this! Marlys Bucher
congrad. this is one of the most outstanding journalism project i have ever seen in my 70 years.
It was nice to finally see a straight overhead view of the bridge collapse. i realized that I had never seen that view before.
This is an incredible work. Thank you so much for the time, care, creativity, skill, and heart that went into this project. Amazing.
While for most of us this seems like “old news,” you have captured in a unique and important way the very human side of this tragedy and remind us of the human side of this traumatizing event — for them, it is not “old news,” but still something they have to continue to deal with on a daily basis. Telling the stories of these people — and hearing/reading their stories in their own words — is very important and I thank them, as well as you, for sharing them. It is overwhelming.
The photos, the sound and the images offer a very unique experience. This is using technology in the best possible way.
If I were to offer one suggestion it would be that the slide show at the beginning be a bit slower, but this is a minor criticism.
Thank you and bless you for your important work.
-Cindy Boggs, Fridley
Stunning - just as I felt as I watched the news from Appleton, Wisconsin where I was on a business trip. I called my brother, and left a message that I was not on the bridge and was ok. Then I waited to hear if anyone I knew was on the bridge. It truly made me re-visit my feelings immediately following the 9/11 events. The courage of the survivors, and the families of those who did not survive amazes me. My thoughts are with you all. Great job on this project.
Star Tribune, great work.
I’m disappointed that some of the articles seem to end in the middle of a sentence and you can’t scroll down anymore. Otherwise, hearing everyone’s stories and reading about what they are going through spins me into so many emotions all over again. It has a similar effect as did 911 for me.
AMAZING WORK!!
This is nicely done.I suggest a follow up story on the professionals who spent so many hours seeking to rescue the living and ultimately recover those who were less fortunate. The impact of that day on their lives would be of interest to me as a reader.
In addition you would do us a great service if you were able to address the psychological fall out on all people involved including the family members of those still with us and those who lost a loved one in this tragedy.
Thank you so much for all the work on this wonderful piece of multi-media. Its so helpful to know the stories of the people who were there when the bridge went down and to know how they were effected by it.
I lived 6 blocks from the bridge and took it frequently when it wasn’t under construction. I wonder many times what if I took it that day.
Thank you for all your work on this project. It’s an amazing piece and helps more than you know.
Megan
Just want to commend you on this piece, this is excellent, very well done, and helps put the whole event in perspective for me.
A suggestion for improvement: I like how in the victim profiles you also show a lateral view of their vehicle, which shows the actual orienatation of it. This give you a better sense of the precarious situation some of them were in vs. the aerial view, although both views are pertinent. Also, an arrow pointing to the subject vehicle on the lateral view would be helpful.
One would think someone had correlated the numbers placed on the vehicles with a license plate no., wouldn’t they? This should help you in identifying some of the vehicles.
Thanks, and keep up the great work.
I want to be the first to nominate this as the most interesting website this year!!!! I hope you will keep it up for a while - I e-mailed the site to MANY people! GOOD JOB STAR TRIBUNE!
This is a very nice project, however, for some strange reason I am still bothered by this disaster. It is just like 9-11 for me, all over again. It wasn’t a natural disaster - it was man made - not from a barge running into it, just plain negligence, and perhaps that is why it bothers me so. I am not from Minnesota, and most people know I have had my issues with its culture, but this bridge collapse just tore at my heart. I went to the area the day afterwards, and just walked around for four hours. Then a week later, I returned, and spent several hours on the Stone Arch Bridge. At one point, I just silently cried, while a WCCO cameraman rolled his film. What really stunned me, when I was walking from the Stone Arch bridge, were the cars on the I35 bridge ramp, the ramp leading to nowhere. And, those vehicles just stopped in time. It was like a nuclear holocaust for me - since even the car doors were still open. One could just imagine the cars’ occupants walking (or running?) away in shock. (I lock my car doors while pumping gas, although I am outside the car. I have always wondered what I would do in the situation as those occupants on the ramp that day. Would I still lock up in my obsessiveness about car security, or would I immediately run? I just don’t know.) It bothers me still to read about and look at pictures of this bridge collapse. I think we have all taken for granted driving over bridges. I certainly have being a native Easterner, with its numerous bridges and tunnels under water. Since that day, I keep a hammer nudged tightly near a seat in my car. It is some comfort. Your projects are thoughtful, indeed, and I thank you for your efforts in helping all of us to deal with this, even months later. Obviously for those who couldn’t respond (the victims), it is still much too difficult to talk about. I feel very sad for all the bridge victims and their families.
“13 seconds in August” is a magnificent and much needed history and remembrance. It seems that only recently have we been able to hear about the people whose lives have changed, and in some cases, ended as a result of the bridge collapse. Now there is the controversy about compensation for the victims. Anyone who says “no” there should not be compensation should never be in a position to make those decisions. Nothing we can say or do or give is enough and we must make sure such a tradgedy NEVER is allowed to happen again.
Thank you so much for giving us this record of a tragic event that most of us will never forget. I am sincerely grateful and deeply moved.
Thanks for the sharing the stories of so many affected by this tragedy.
It has been nearly four months but this tragedy will be with us for as long as someone remembers. Never forget those who died too soon, the people who were physically and/or psychologically injured and the heroic folks who came to help. I served as a volunteer for eight days (used vacation time from work) and it was the most amazing & horrific experience in my existence. Remember, anyone who was directly or indirectly involved in this disaster can feel the affects. The important thing is to get help right away. Speak with a professional about how you are feeling. Otherwise, the trauma will expand. There is no shame in healing.
Best wishes to you all.
PS I’ve spoken with counselors on several occasions since August. It really does help.
I just want to thank you for the wonderful job that you have done completing this project. It gave me an opportunity to find out about the people in the vehicles next to me. Thank you for putting this together!Lois Welman
On this terrible day for MN, our church united with several other churches to pray for the families of the victims, the survivors and the entire community of MN, for God’s comfort and care. It was a great moment for us to forget what denomination we come from or how we worshp God, but to unite at citizens of the United States, in prayer for MN.
We will continue to keep you in our prayers as you continue to put all the pieces together.
At your service,
Rev. Miriam Laureano DD
Orlando, Florida
Pastor of the Defenders of the Christian Faith Movement
Thank you for all the time, energy, and the countless hours that your staff must have spent to put together this article/project.
My son, Gary Babineau was on the bridge (#6 on your graffic). I can still hear his emotional voice as he called to tell me what had happened. My daughter Lizzie and I were eating dinner as the phone rang. Gary, with a terrified, emotional voice, tried to explain what had happened. “You fell off a bridge? The bridge fell down? What were you doing to fall off a bridge? Your truck broke in half?” I couldn’t even fathom what he was talking about! He said he was OK. But OK doesn’t always mean the same thing to a 24 year old male as to a mom. It was a very frightening phone call!
Nine years ago, one of our sons, Gary’s 22 year old brother, died in an accident. Our family knows how prescious life is and also how fleeting it can be. I think that this made the bridge collapse all the more frightening and emotional for our family.
At the time of our son’s death, no one stopped to help despite the fact that people saw the accident.
So, am I suprised to know that my son Gary would get off the bride to relative safety and then cross under the bridge and climb back up on the other side to help get the children off the bus? Am I suprised to know that he would get back on a bridge not knowing if there would be further collapse to help others to safety? Am I suprised by the fact that he ignored his own injuries and put the welfare of others first? No, I’m not at all suprised by what Gary did that day. But, I am proud!
Mercedes Gorden and Jake Rudh are very good friends of my daughter and mys elf. Their legislator will not return my emails as he responds I only responf to constituents. I am afraid I do not even know who to write for zip code 55127 Vadnais Heights to plead for financial help for the survivors. Can you please help me fight for these people.
Thank you
GM
Just a quick comment on something I noticed that seems incorrect:
The intro clip showing the footage of the collapse itself credits Mn/DOT Camera 628, but if I recall correctly, that footage was from the Army Corp of Engineers Surveillance camera, not Mn/DOT’s.
Sorry about typos
Just came upon this article and clicked around on it for awhile. What an awesome way for people to read about that incredible “13-seconds” of time. It’s good to put a name with each vehicle. We’re so used to seeing just photos of the vehicles - but nothing much on the occupants except for a few who made the news reports and unfortunately those that didn’t make it. This is a powerful reminder of the human element amidst all the controversy over how it collapsed; who’s responsible; building a new bridge; the red tape in getting financial aide to the surviors; blah, blah, blah. It’s hard to read through tears, so it will take some time to get through it all. I hope you leave it on the website for awhile, so we have time to read it and reflect on it. My thoughts and prayers go out to all for speedy recoveries, dealing with loss and putting lives back together. It is a wonderful tribute! THANK YOU!
This is absolutely amazing. I am an instructor in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee. This semester I am teaching courses in Visual Communication and Online Journalism. One of my students shared this site with me. This is an example of incredible multimedia journalism.
I love your 13 seconds in August.It was done with the kind of tenderness and respect that people don’t often get a chance to read about in todays news media.The hours that the Star Tribune put into this shows us that there is a company out there that has a heart and deep felt compassion to all victims.Whether it be a huge disaster or one that doesn’t add up to thousands of deaths.The photography alone tells the story of this very tragic day;but for you to actually take the time to find out what vehicle belongs to who and interveiwing on camera and in print as many as you did ,is going above and beyond what I or anyone else would expect from any newspaper or in that case any news media.I personally hate watching the news because it seems like the news anchors on T.V are so fake, with their bleached cleaned teeth and their perfect hair.Their monotone voices just spilling out the words they see on the teleprompter.There’s no emotion in them whatsoever.And even though your reading a newspaper and looking at still photos,your paper seems to get more emotion across than the T.V media does.So Thank You Star Tribune for putting such a wonderful and touching piece about all our loved ones and friends who were on that bridge that fateful day in August.And may every minnesotan remember that even if You didn’t know anyone on the bridge, thats one less life in this world that could’ve made a wonderful contribution in the world.And everyone that survived still needs to know that we as fellow human beings wish and hope for the very best of things to go their way.THANK YOU AGAIN.And to all victims and families of the deceased,know that we think of you everyday.
I was following an ambulance that was carrying my life partner from Little Falls to the U of M Fairview Hospital for massive surgery due to stage IIIc ovarian caner. I had just parked in the emergency lot when I heard the strangest sound. By the time I got up to unit 7C, the hospital was going into lock-down. Not knowing for sure what was happening, I prayed. I prayed for whomever was in trouble and their loved ones. When I got to her room, she had just turned the t.v. on and it was then, that I knew what I heard. That sound and the pictures will always be linked in my heart. Surgery was postponed for 2 days so that operating rooms were available for those that needed them. This 13 seconds in August project is a powerful and meaningful thing to have run into on the web. I prayed again as I watched the slideshow.
This is just remarkable. I couldn’t stop clicking, on each number….and remembering that day. We were almost on that bridge, probably 5 minutes behind, due to our 6 month old baby needing a last minute diaper change. God bless those people and families. Great job, Strib.
Beautiful.
Wow. I truly appreciate what the Star Tribune has done by creating such a touching, thoughtful account of what people went through that horrible day. I hope and expect many awards for this piece of work. May God bless all those touched and connected through this experience.
Thank you for the great job you have done in putting this together. It helps me try to make sense of such a tragic catastrophe.
P.S. Is there any way to get a whole copy of this to save on my computer.
This is an amazing project. Really amazing project. I sat here for two hours just clicking on every single button and reading, listening and watching each of these stories-and crying quite a bit, I must add! I think when they talk about the possibilities for using new media/multimedia in journalism, this is what they are talking about. Congratulations and thank you!
“13 seconds in August” made me realize just how quick your life can change. The site is a great tribute to those who survived, lost their lives, witnesses, friends and family members. It may be a bit emotional, but more people need to check it out. Maybe they too will realize that it only takes seconds for your life change completely.
Thank you, this news piece filled in a lot of the raw questions. Brought me to tears and prayer for the families and our community. May we take time to be graceful while our conjested roadways continue. Awesome web design and information.
Thanx. I have wanted to see something like this to see where and how it all happened. Please keep updating it as you find out more. Thanx.
enough already!!!!!!
move on!
This is an amazing project. Thank you for sharing these stories. I felt sadness when I saw the crumpled concrete on TV, but reading these stories has me in tears.
This is genious in the way it presents this tradgedy. However, some of the video interviews cut out before the person is finished speaking.
I have been captivated for the last 2 hours experiencing this report.
I am so impressed with the work that went into this report, from collecting the information to formatting it into this exceptional report.
I am also impressed with the eloquence of the people who gave interviews. Their descriptions of what they experienced, help they gave to others, and how they are recovering and moving on are remarkable. It is a beautifully positive example of people caring about and helping others even when they are suffering as well.
Thank you for your work on this project.
Thank you - we all have a tendancy to get on with our lives and forget - we have to keep remembering this and keep on our state and federal legislators to get this problem fixed before it happens again. I didn’t realize that there were that many people involved - we heard about the ones that were killed but not much on the other individuals - it was a real eye-opener to read this.
I was in total shock when I seen what happened on tv that day and felt so bad for the people that were involved and the ones who lost they’re loved ones to this horrible devestation. When I heard about bolts missing and cracks in this structure I thought to myself why the hell didn’t they do anything about this sooner! And shame on you people or person that hide the report that was done on this particular bridge! I’m from wisconsin and after this event happened, the state had 4 to 5 bridges inspected and from what I can remember ALL OF THEM WERE DEEMED TO BE UNSAFE! And so far there’s already construction going on to rebuild some of these brigdes and they started immediately! KEY WORD: IMMEDIATEDLY! Because nobody WITHHELD information and actually cares about our safety when travelling. I’m extremely disappointed in the state for not getting this matter taken care of ASAP!
Totally and incredibly amazing! Wonderful job! Thank you so much for the hard work, obviously, done to document this so well for history and for sharing it with everyone.
I am so glad you did this project. Peter was my neighbor and his family is very dear to our hearts on our block and in Rosemount. I never did go down to see the bridge-it didn’t seem right knowing people were still underwater. I was glad to see where Peter’s car was-I had wanted to know, but didn’t know who to ask. This aerial photo gives an excellent perspective. Peter, like so many others, was so close to getting off the bridge…that’s hard to comprehend and I can’t help but wish he had made it. I know people always seem to say this, but truly Peter was an excellent person, a great neighbor and a true humanitarian. I drive by his house every day and wish the bridge collapse had never happened. Thanks for sharing all the stories of the people on the bridge. I pray they find healing and peace. Please continue to be a watchdog for the survivors and the victims families-they deserve that at the very least.
This story was fabulous! I loved hearing the videos from the survivors. The details of the crash site and how the cars landed was amazing.
The sadness that anyone died, especially when this was preventable, is great. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones. Their journey of grief is likely at the beginning. As a widow myself….
But, what is also incredible to me is that more people did not die. It was my route, and was on the bridge that day. Seems somewhat amazing, knowing what rush hour was like, and the construction. Especially the 12 surviving workers that stood on that bridge as it fell from under them. Fell away from under their feet………… Does anyone have stories from these people?
Again, I do not want to minimize the sorrow of those who are dealing with the aftermath. But doesn’t the number seem miraculous?
Unfortunately the negative comments and calls you have received haven’t made it here. It may be fascinating to some to see the personal pictures of the victims in their moments of fear and unbelievable grief, but to those people it is personal and does not need to be shown for your benefit of a great story. Identify the cars and say what happened, but it is unnecessary to show again the most personal pictures and expose the victims to more grief.
The bridge collapse in Menneapolis was a very devastating moment for Minnesotans and Texans alike. You see, I have a younger sister and brother living in Mpls and I was very concerned for them. I immediately called my sister as soon as I heard the news on television and confirmed that she and my brother were okay. Still, I am saddened for the people that perished at the bridge collapse and pray for the survivors and the families that were affected by this tragic event. Great job on the “13 Seconds in August” report, hopefully this helps bring closure for the survivors of this nightmarish catastrophe.
A detour to Home Depot caused me to miss being on the bridge at about the time it fell. I don’t understand how something like this is possible in Minnesota, a state that has made significant investments in infrastructure and our quality of life. I have one question: Why isn’t anyone in jail yet for being negligent in letting this happen? I want to see a real inquiry and justice. Who are the people responsible for this? Why do they still have their jobs? I also want to see the state pay significant monies to the survivors.
Excellent piece! There is also a good article at http://www.dasselcokato.com about a bridge survivor. She produced a small video of her experience.
We apologize for the technical troubles in recent weeks. startribune.com moved to a new publishing system, and there have been some bumps along the way. If you have any continued troubles, please email me at jshiffer@startribune.com or Rhonda Prast at rprast@startribune.com, and thanks so much for visiting this site.
I assume “13 seconds” is how long it took for the bridge to collapse? I have seen the video and it looks like 2 seconds to me. What equiptment or reference was used to determne the 13 seconds?
As one of the people who lost someone in the bridge collapse I’d wanna say that it hurts when you see all these gawkers taking pictures of the bridge.
Good question Mike. This is Dave Braunger and I am the designer on this piece. The 13 seconds is somewhat subjective. MnDot was contacted but couldn’t give us an exact number.
We stared at the video we received from MnDot for a long time before coming up with 13 seconds.
That video is at a framerate of 3 shots per second but it does have a timestamp that we used for verification. In the opening to the project you can see an ‘animation’ of that process at 1 frame per second (due to bandwidth/loading limitations).
You need to remember that the bridge collapsed in a wave. If you look at the video you will see that the far side stays up for a few seconds before falling.
Hope that helps
This is an amazing coverage piece as was the story in the Sunday, Dec 23 2007 paper. We have forwarded it to friends who used to live in MN and are now elsewhere in the US. They depend on this kind of updating to keep them informed on the terrible tragedy and any follow-ups that are available. Please keep them coming.
This is the best coverage of the bridge collapse yet. I knew one of the people who died and have wondered the layout of how everything took place. I’m happy someone took the time and put in the effort to bring this project to life.
This is amazing. I have chills. My family passed over the bridge just minutes before the collapse. They new nothing of the danger they had just missed until safely home. God bless the responders and bystanders who helped and prayed. God Bless you for this project.
Most sincerely… Jane
This is really an amazing piece of work. The author should get a publishing prize for it.
I was on the bridge on August 1`, 2007, and my story is included with your aricle (car #89). It helps me to back and look at your piece, even five months after the collapse. Thank you for all you hard work and don’t take down this piece from your website anytime soon.
As a girl in love with all things minnesotan this tragedy really hurt my heart, when I saw all those cars I wanted to know, did they get out? are they safe? where are they now? This is the most amazing thing I have seen in relation to this story. I hope it doesnt hurt the families though of those who passed, I hope it helps them see how much beauty was in that day as well as sadness, beauty in the people who instead of running full-speed off that dangerous bridge, stopped and held out a helping hand, even if it wasnt to save a life just to be there to comfort and help. Bravo to Star and Tribune and to all the wonderful Minnesotans and others of that day who courageously helped their fellow bridge travelers, they really showed what it means to have love for your neighbor.
I work for the steel manufacturer right next to the bridge. Our company trailers were under the north end of the bridge. A few of us ran out and helped people out of their cars and ran down to the river and helped as well. After two hours we were kicked out because they more qualified to be in there helping out than we were. We felt very proud to be able to help, and it was an amazing job of helping from everyone. You dont know quite what to do, but you ask and assist where you can. This is a fantastic piece and I hope someday someone will put a rememberance dvd with more details to it. I dont want to forget what happened and the people that passed, and the people that did what they could to help. Also, I dont care what it costs for the survivors, or those that passed, their medical bills should be paid, bridges should not fall!!
Steve
coon rapids
Our grandson, Jimmy Hanson, was one of the adult counselors on the school bus. He carried out the injured bus driver (with back injuries) and Julie (the other counselor with leg injuries). He can be seen on the ground counseling Julie as she waits for attention in the video. He has quietly gone forward after the accident, returned to work with the kids which he had done for two years, been challenged by back and shoulder discomfort, gotten his injured teeth repaired, and despite these and other difficulties is finishing his senior year at the U of M and looking forward to the future. None of us will ever forget August 1st….which also happened to be his grand-father’s 75th Birthday. He was awarded “Player of the Year” at the end of the 07′ fall season by the rugby team at the U for his valor and he will always be our hero as for his courage many were helped.
I FEEL PAIN FOR ALL THAT DROVE THAT DRIVE AND THE FAMILIES THAT WAITED SO LONG TO FIND THE MISSINGS LOVED ONES. I AM 47 YEARS OLD BORN AND RAISED IN MPLS AND THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANYTHING OF THIS MULTITUDE THAT HAS HAPPENED HERE. AS FAR AS I KNOW, I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT DAY AS LONG AS I LIVE. I WAS LATE COMING HOME, AND I AT THAT IN TIME WENT TO ST PAUL, ON THAT SAME BRIDGE, AND I CALLED HOME TO CHECK ON MY OWN CHILDREN AND MY OLDEST DAUGHTER WAS CRYING SHE COULD NOT REACH ME AND SAID THAT SHE WAS LOOKING ON THAT BRIDGE AT THAT MOMENT STANDING IN FRONT OF THE TV,LOOKING FOR MY CAR KNOWING THAT HER FATHER AND I WERE TOGETHER AND THAT WE WERE GOING TO GO TO ST PAUL THAT DAY.THANK GOD THAT WE DIDNT,WE WOULD HAVE RETUNING ABOUT THE SAME TIME . THE SUPPORT FROM MINNESOTA PEOPLE WAS HEART WARMING TO SEE ALL THE HEROS WHO RISKED THEIR OWN LIVES AFTER THE BRIDGE WENT DOWNTHE PEOPLE THAT WERE ABLE TO STOP IN PAIN AND FEAR TO PUT THEIR HANDS OUT TO HELP EACH OTHER OR STAY WITH ONE ANOTHER UNTIIL HELP MADE IT TO THEM WAS WONDERFUL, WATCHING IT ALL OVER AGAIN TODAY, I FOUND THAT MY FEELINS WERE AS STRONG AS THAT DAY AND MY PRAYERS CAME RIGHT BEHIND MY FEELINGS , I HOPE THAT ALL WILL HEAL IN SIDE AS WELL AS OUT AND THAT THERE LIVES BE FILLED WITH THE LORDS BLESSINGS
This project was really hard for me to look at, and yet I found it impossible not to. I felt like I needed to know who the victims were, what their injuries were, and how they are now. I hope that there is a follow-up to this project to see how the victims are doing now that almost a year has passed. I was the driver of Car 36.
Absolutely amazing journalism. Thank you for reinforcing us how precious 13 seconds of life is. Thank you most especially for the delicate way you gently interwove the human emotion and pain with a sense of hope and possibility for those left to continue on. Your work should be placed in the Minnesota archives. While no one could have predicted the events, how Minnesota handled the aftermath has been remarkable. It’s the story…beginning to endless end. Again, remarkable work.
It seems so hard to comprehend, for some of us, how a loving God could allow something like this to happen. I remember some of the discussion right after this happened, and was disturbed by how many people were blaming this on God, and by those who were laughing at the whole idea of God. It was the same after 9/11. We are all entitled to our own beliefs, but what I think is important for us to remember from this, and every other tragedy that occurs, is that it isn’t God who causes these things, but nor does God sit back and do nothing either. This bridge collapsed because of our neglect, and misplaced priorities. We all have free will, and we neglected to fix this before it was too late. It’s either everybody’s fault, or nobody’s. I vote for both. We all have our own destinies. We need to refocus our priorities on what’s important, not what’s more glamorous. If there is money left over after we’ve taken care of the necessities, then fine, go ahead and have some fun, but don’t neglect the necessities. And as tragic as that was I am not ashamed to be a Minnesotan in any way, because what I remember most was the selflessness of so many, who risked their own lives without a second thought to pull people out of the river and out of their cars, and guide so many of the survivors to safety, and this all before any professional rescuers alive. Without these people it could’ve been much worse, and God Bless everyone of them! That tells me that God was indeed there that day, urging these people to action.
And I thought our professionals did very well too. I think we showed the world how to handle a massive tragedy, with courage, selflessness, and dedication. Yes, I am very proud to be a Minnesotan! Let’s all count our blessings and remember the victims, and pray that something like this never happens again.
Note: In my previous post I meant to say, “before any professional rescuers arrived.” Thank God they were all very much alive!
Well Done Star Tribune! In defense of those against this piece, it brings closure to a lot of people in the Mpls community. Almost all of us know someone who used to drive over the 35W bridge regularly so we all feel connected to the event. We can learn a lot about life from the accounts on the bridge. Andy Gannon’s story was very moving and I recommend that everyone listen to him. Perspective on life changes dramatically when one comes close to death.
In regards to the victims/families of the bridge collapse, I agree that the state needs to put them 1st. Injured, traumatized, heart broken, jobless, etc… HELP THEM! Where are our priorities? This accident is the state’s fault, so they need to remedy the lives that are in ruins.
A former Minneapolis resident I now live in Texas. I was deeply saddened by the collapse of a bridge I traveled numerous times and all the lives torn apart by the even. It has been great to be kept informed by you guys concerning this tragedy. I commend you on an incredible job well done with this project. Thanks so much.
A former resident of Blue Earth, Minnesota, I now live in Tennessee. I echo former Minneapolis resident Riley’s comments — You’ve done an outstanding job on this. Thank you to all for the efforts that have been made (and continue to be made) to report this tragedy.
The day the Stone Arch Bridge reopened I walked across it and over to an area about a block away from the bridge. I really didn’t have any reaction to the disaster until I saw a red car (#99) with another car on top of it. Because of this site I was able to find out that the first car belong to Melissa Hughes, and find out how she’s been doing.
Thank you for providing this site.
This is a wonderful summary of the collapse! My son was running under the bridge as it began to fall. To see what he actually was seeing and experiencing is very helpful. He was very fortunate to make it out alive, and be able to help the students off the bus. A brief hesitation in disbelief, a slight stumble while running in his hurry to get out, or any little “incident”, could have meant a totally different outcome. As parents, we had a strange feeling he was there. Countless calls to his cell phone with no answer was not normal, making us worry even more. Tim’s girlfriend was waiting for him to come home and go to the Twins game - Tim is never late, but he was that night. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost someone, and to those dealing with the aftermath of this devastating catastrophe.
I just learned about this web site. After yesterday’s remembrance of a year ago, it is meaningful to look at this web site, “13 seconds in August”. I was at the bridge last year, little over a week after it went down. To see the cars and devastion was (and is) an emotional memory. That day it was very quite and all you could hear is the river moving. With your very caring and hard work, I hope this site stays for a long time. To learn more about those who were on the bridge and where their vehicle was located makes it even more personal. It is horrible that 13 lives were lost and I can’t imagine the suffering their families have and are experiencing. I know the first thing I did on 8-1-07 was call family members to make sure they were ok. In this day and age of cell phones, I think as a mom or sister or spouse or daughter to be able to talk to my love ones would have brought some peace. I know that small word, “why”, can never be answered and yet I hope and pray families of those who died or survivors are able to find some peace in their yearly remembrance of those 13 seconds in August, 2007.
Thank you so much for working so hard on this project. I have visited it several times over the last year and now (over three days) have worked my way through every single comment, video, and photo. Big fat tears have been falling non-stop. Amazing. I am so proud to be from Minnesota, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
Shawn
Just wanted to say thanks for your outstanding journalism. Also want to commend all the rescuers and professionals continually helping those in need to this day. I live in Indianapolis and I drive for a company locally. There are a few bridges I’ve seen around here that could possibly face disaster one day, many are owned by the railroad. Cracks, holes,etc…scary stuff. The govt. needs to provide for their citizens safety. Hope your story will give them a wakeup call. Commendations to your paper and staff!
Thank you for keeping this memorial website with the picture of the fallen bridge with numbers for the cars, that I can press, and get the story on each injured person. When I first went thru the ‘numbers’ in 2007 - cars on the collapsed bridge and prayed for the families of the deceased, and for recovery of the injured, I was amazed at many things and it took me 3 long sittings at the computer to do get thru the list. It mistified me; why there were 12 or so vehicles with no information.
Where did the drivers go? Why did they not stay around? Then another thing was the extent of facial, head, arm, leg, chest and knee injuries of survivors that were not really critical but serious and required extensive surgery and rehab. God bless the rescuers, surgeons, and medical personnel, and the survivors with long term pain and rehab. STRIB: please keep this portion (collapsed bridges with numbers) of the website forever to help us keep track of the survivors.
