The Wire creator David Simon angrily hits out at Baltimore bridge collapse conspiracy theories

David Simon, the creator of Baltimore-set drama The Wire, has hit out as conspiracy theories related to the collapse of a bridge in the US city.

On Tuesday (26 March), at approximately 1am, a cargo-carrying vessel, called the Dali, crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which led to the catastrophic accident.

Many questions remain about the collision – with experts saying it may be too early to say exactly what happened – but there are many, including Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who are sharing the unfounded suggestion that the accident was a terrorist attack.

Simon, a former Baltimore Sun journalist whose US show The Wire was set in the Maryland city, has angrily tackled these viewpoints directly on social media.

In response to Greene’s post, which asked, “Is this an intentional attack or an accident?”, Simon called the politician “a complete sub-moronic pratfall of a human being”.

In reply to another person who asked if it was “possible” the accident had been a “terrorist” incident, Simon wrote: “It’s possible that you’re a useless s***heel rando on an internet hellsite speculating wildly and without regard to what is already known by authorities in Baltimore.”

When a separate person shared the same conspiracy theory on X/Twitter, he wrote: “There are already video and radio transmissions online suggesting a series of power failures and loss of steering on the vessel. You can certainly speculate wildly and no one can stop you, but doing so doesn’t make you any less the a**hole here.”

At the time the collapse occurred, two people were rescued from the water, with one in critical condition and the other rejecting medical attention.

Six construction workers, who were carrying out works on the bridge at the time, fell into the Patapsco River – and the search for them has now been called off.

Coast Guard rear admiral Shannon Gilreath said: “Based on the length of time that we’ve gone in this search, the extensive search efforts that have gone into it and the water temperature, at this point we do not believe we are going to find these individuals alive.”