All Victims In The Miami Bridge Collapse Have Been Announced
By Sierra Brown
A bridge collapsed last week killing six people and leaving eight injured in Miami at Florida International University, and on Sunday (March 18) Miami-Dade police confirmed the identities of the last two victims.
USA Today reports 18-year-old FIU student Alexa Duran was pulled from the rubble Saturday night (March 17). Brandon Brownfield, 39, was also among the victims. Rolando Fraga Hernandez; Oswald Gonzalez, 57; Alberto Arias, 53; and Navarro Brown are the four other victims police identified.
Many are wondering what caused the bridge’s collapse. The National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt told NBC a team of 15 experts in civil engineering, materials science and human factors are trying to figure out what went wrong so the same mistake isn’t committed twice. NTSB investigators said this process could take about a week.
Robert Accetta, chief NTSB investigator also noted construction workers were tightening internal cables with intentions on providing support for the walkway when the tragedy occured.
The UniversityCity Bridge, built over a seven-lane road, was meant to connect FIU to Sweetwater, a nearby city were roughly 4,000 students live, according to NBC. The Miami Herald said students and faculty have been asking for a bridge to safely get across the road, especially after an FIU student was hit and killed while attempting to cross the intersection in August.
It swiftly went up in six hours under the “accelerated bridge construction” method, although the entire project wasn’t to be completed until 2019. The portion of the bridge that collapsed was made to hold its own weight until the whole bridge was assembled. Lawsuits can be expected.
Classes resume Monday (March 19) at FIU.
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