‘He thought we were going to die.’ Baltimore tragedy a reminder of Biloxi bridge collapse

A container ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge early Tuesday in Baltimore, causing the span to buckle into the river below. Fifteen years ago this month, Biloxi was dealing with the crash of a barge that took out a 100-foot section of the Popp’s Ferry Bridge.

Unlike the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, nobody died in Biloxi that day, but it was a near-tragedy for people on the bridge.

It was around 7:30 a.m. on March 20, 2009 when a tugboat pushing eight barges wasn’t able to get them safely through the drawbridge. One of the barges crashed into the bridge pilings and a section of the bridge south of the draw came down.

Several people had a near miss that day:

▪ Margie Johnson, who worked for the city for 21 years, was in the small bridge tender office on the bridge. She had raised the drawspan for approaching barges and when the barge in front struck concrete pilings south of the drawbridge, she said the collision was like being in an earthquake.

A 60-foot section of bridge — just yards from her office — collapsed into Back Bay, the Sun Herald reported that day. She was rescued by firefighters and marine patrol officers who used boats and ladders to reach Johnson after she was able to use an emergency catwalk to reach the rescue personnel.

Her truck that was parked next to her office on the bridge fell into the water and was swept away.

▪ A mom and her children, ages 11 and 9, were crossing the bridge on the way to buy donuts to take to school when the red light came on to signal the drawbridge was rising.

”You hate when you get stuck by the bridge,” said Michelle Filipich of Biloxi.

The safety arm farthest south on the bridge did not come down, she told police. She stopped her white van near the red light instead of pulling up to the safety arm, a fateful decision because that first gate soon ended up in the water.

Filipich said she didn’t see the barges veering toward them instead of moving through the drawbridge because the bridge was high.

“The next thing we felt was the car shaking. Then we saw it (the bridge span) fall,” she said. Her son in the front seat started hollering as he watched the bridge disappear. “He thought we were going to die,” she said.

“I was trying to stay calm. I just wanted to get off. I didn’t know if something was going to blow up next,” she said. She slammed her van into reverse and laid on the horn. The person in the car behind her probably realized what had happened, she said, but she didn’t think those behind that car did. She managed to get the van turned around and sped away to her mother’s home near the bridge.

”Although there were reports that a car fell into the bay, “there was no one in front of us,” said Filipich. “

Their priest, the Rev. Joe Dilettuso, heard the crash and saw the bridge collapse from his nearby townhouse at Anatole Bay, not realizing two of his students from Our Lady of Fatima School were on the bridge.

▪ Dilettuso said he saw another vehicle behind her do a quick U-turn and get off the bridge, he said.

Very traumatic

The pilot of the Cheryl Stegbauer, the towing vehicle that hit the bridge in Biloxi, had a previous minor incident when he brushed a bridge pier on a river in Tennessee.

”This has been very traumatic for us,” said Bill Stegbauer, president of Southern Towing.

The Popp’s Ferry accident was among the company’s worst moments, he told the Sun Herald.

”We’ve got a lot of safety awards,” he said, and people shouldn’t think the company is careless.

He said the passage through the Back Bay is a challenge. “Your channel goes through like a snake,” he said, and is influenced by the tide and wind. “You have to be aware and awake.”

Quick repairs

The bridge is owned by the city, but Mississippi Department of Transportation took charge of getting it repaired quickly while drivers took alternate routes.

Then Mayor A.J. Holloway said Federal Highway Emergency money would pay to get the repairs done quickly and would be repaid with the insurance reimbursement. Two spans and eight pilings were taken out in the crash.

With hurricane season quickly approaching, and the bridge on an evacuation route, the work was fast-tracked.

Joe McGee Construction from Lake, Mississippi, was awarded the $2 million contract to rebuild the bridge and was offered a $75,000-a-day incentive to open the bridge ahead of schedule. The company would pay a $75,000 penalty if the project took longer.

Work began began at midnight on April 11, 2009 and was expected to be done in 17 days.

It reopened around 7:30 a.m. April 25, three days ahead of schedule and just over a month after the collapse.