May 26, 2002, Memorial Day Weekend, A Barge Pilot ...  PRO

May 26, 2002, Memorial day weekend, a barge pilot passed out and hit a bridge span of I-40 over the Arkansas river. This accident dropped a 600 foot span of the bridge 62 feet into the swift flowing river below. Eleven people (and a trailer full of show horses) died as their cars and 18-wheelers dove over the edge of the missing span, one piling on top of another. There were several fishermen on the river in a bass competition, who saw the bridge collapse. Realizing that the cars & trucks were still coming, one of the fishermen below the bridge reached into his boats’ emergency kit for the emergency flare. Whipping the flare up into firing position, the fisherman let the missle fly: up, up, and over the edge of the last standing bridge span. That one flare providentially hit the windshield of the next 18-wheeler speeding down I-40 at 70 miles an hour. The shocked drive hit his brakes, and his front tires slid over the drop-off; putting his truck into reverse, he pulled his wheels back up onto the bridge, warning the other drivers. Another boat of fishermen saw a man under the damaged barge, who was holding on for dear life, and got a floatation device to him and puled him into their boat, effecting the rescue. One man’s (the river pilot) error resulted in the death of many (eleven people died); one man’s quick thinking and action (the fisherman) saved the lives of many. The continued action of other fishermen, saved the life of one who was savable, but sinking.

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