During the 1980s, there was a tragic incident when a cargo ship collided with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida, during a foggy morning, resulting in the bridge’s collapse and the loss of 35 lives. Four decades later, a similar event occurred, this time in Maryland. On March 26, a freighter ship experienced a power failure and drifted into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spans the Patapsco River. Prior to the collision, the vessel managed to issue a distress signal, prompting authorities to halt traffic on both ends of the bridge. Unfortunately, there was a road construction crew working on the bridge at the time, attending to maintenance tasks such as filling potholes.
Upon impact with the bridge, the cargo ship caused an immediate collapse, plunging the eight workers into the river below. Two of the workers were successfully rescued from the water by responders. Regrettably, the remaining six are believed to have perished. Late Tuesday evening, the US Coast Guard shifted their efforts from rescue to recovery.
The incident in Baltimore evoked recollections for individuals in the Tampa Bay Area. On May 9, 1980, a cargo ship collided with the Skyway Bridge, resulting in its collapse into Tampa Bay, approximately 150 feet below. Similar to the Baltimore incident, this occurred during the early morning hours. Additionally, akin to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Skyway Bridge serves as a significant transportation route in Florida. Numerous vehicles, including a Greyhound Bus, plunged into the waters of Florida during the incident.
Cynthia Zahnow, interviewed by The Washington Post on Tuesday, recounted her experience as a 19-year-old during the Skyway accident. Zahnow served as part of the search-and-rescue team, tasked with lifting bodies retrieved from the Greyhound bus. In an ironic twist, Zahnow currently holds a position as an oncology professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She mentioned having crossed the Key Bridge on numerous occasions, and upon learning of Tuesday’s accident, she was immediately transported back to that rainy day in Florida from years ago.
