On May 9, 1980, The Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed into Tampa Bay, sending vehicles and a Greyhound bus plummeting over 150-feet into the water. After the two accidents, the original Skyway badly needed replacing, and . Relates the moment-by-moment account of the 1980 Tampa Bay bridge disaster in which thirty-five people were killed and discusses the dangers of the many unsafe bridges throughout America He discusses the sinking of a Coast Guard cutter a mere three months before Skyway collapsed and the Department of Transportation’s dire warnings about the bridge’s condition. Found insideShe killed a man. Found inside – Page 465... in a bad rainstorm hit a supporting pillar of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa; a section of the bridge collapsed with automobiles and a bus falling. Three suffered minor injuries, but the fourth was thrown from the bridge, falling more than 150 feet into the Mississippi River. Found inside – Page 574Harkin said that on his five - hour bus ride across Iowa , no other ... last May when it plunged into Tampa Bay after the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed . It … Within days of the accident, the Florida DOT started planning a replacement bridge. Found insideBRIDGE. IS. DOWN. 1980. Nearly three months after the Blackthorn disaster, ... Several automobiles, a pickup truck and one Greyhound bus soared at nearly ... The pier was destroyed and the roadway above crashed into the waters of Tampa Bay. It was his last training mission, and he was . At 7:34 a.m. Friday, May 9, 1980, Wesley MacIntire was driving his Ford Courier pickup over the southbound span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, headed for his job at a meat-delivery business. The bus was near the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge Wednesday afternoon when Thomas Grove, 61, fell out of his seat, passengers and authorities said. Found inside – Page 172... some of the remains of an overland section of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge. ... bridge, and a center section of it buckled and collapsed into the bay. The 1980 collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay is an example. John Lerro tensed at … On the night of Jan. 14, a driver crossing the Hale Boggs Bridge struck four construction workers. Drivers passing over the bridge have often reported stopping their cars on to yell at what they assume are potential jumpers, only for the figures to smile sadly at them before vanishing. John Lerro tensed at the helm of the freighter Summit Venture, a ship as long as two football fields. The impact caused a 1,200 foot span of the bridge to collapse into the water. . During a storm a freighter struck one of the support columns, taking out a large section of the road 150 ft. above the water. The bridge is the longest cable-stayed concrete bridge in the world, . Bruce Atkins was 32 years old, an experienced mariner, and an apprentice harbor pilot in Tampa Bay. A car is halted at the edge of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, Fla., after the freighter Summit Venture struck the bridge during a thunderstorm and tore away a large part of the span . RELATED: Photos: Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster anniversary [Photo gallery] Soon after, so did seven vehicles. The victim, 44-year-old Brady Ortego, had never been named publicly. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thursday marks 39 years since the deadly Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse. DeYoung also offers a history of the ill-fated bridge, from its construction in 1954, through the addition of a second parallel span in 1971, to its eventual replacement. On May 9, 1980, a freighter collided with one of the Skyway's support columns, sending a portion of the bridge crashing into the bay. RELATED: Photos: Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster anniversary [Photo gallery] Soon after, so did seven vehicles. Remembering the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Collapse. The Skyway Bridge collapse accident disaster, May 9th, 1980. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) -- Passengers stopped a charter bus from plunging nearly 200 feet off a bridge after the driver collapsed, apparently from a heart attack. Until now. It was then-governor Bob Graham who made the decision to tear down and modernize, rather than re-build the twin Skyway spans as they were. Thirty-five people died when the bridge over Tampa Bay that joined St. Petersburg and Bradenton in Florida collapsed after it . In one of the worst bridge disasters in American history, a runaway freighter rams the underpinnings of Tampa Bay’s Sunshine Skyway during a morning squall, spilling a string of rush hour passengers to their deaths. It was 39 years ago that the storm-blinded freighter Summit Venture crashed into the support columns of the old Sunshine Skyway bridge, causing a 1,200-foot span of the bridge to collapse into the bay. The ship's collision with one of the bridge's support columns caused the structure to collapse, sending six cars, a truck and a Greyhound bus plummeting 150 ft. into Tampa Bay. Sunshine skyway bridge, tampa bay, fla., 1980 summit venture rammed into the sunshine skyway bridge across tampa bay in 1980, the bridge's structures collapsed, and six cars, a truck and a greyhound bus plunged 150 feet through steel and iron beams into tampa bay. Six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound Bus fell, killing 35 people. . We hear from survivors and find out what changes were made after the crash of a ship onto the bridge. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. A car that was driven by Dick Hornbuckle is halted at the edge of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, Florida, after the freighter Summit Venture struck the bridge during a thunderstorm . May marks the 39th anniversary of when part of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed into Tampa Bay after being struck by a freighter during a storm, sending seven vehicles and a Greyhound bus into the water and killing 35 people. Captain Lerro and the Skyway Bridge" LINK: Learn more about the debut on June 25-26 at The Studio@620 . Saturday, May 10, 1980 ';;. Trending Questions . Via Tampa Bay Times. Flickr creativelenna The freighter known as Summit Venture crashed into the columns under the bridge causing a 1,200-foot portion of the bridge to collapse into the water. ... Captain Lerro and the Skyway Bridge" LINK: Learn more about the debut on June 25-26 at The Studio@620 ... five cars and a Greyhound bus. 1980 collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, FL. At 7:33 a.m. on May 9th, 1980, the freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a pier (support column) of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge during a blinding thunderstorm, sending over 1,200 feet (370 m) of the bridge plummeting into Tampa Bay. minutes before the bus went over the Skyway Bridge. Top image via Tampa Bay Times. A14 Orwell Bridge: . May 8, 1980: "St. Petersburg, Fla. (UPI) — A 608-foot phosphate freighter fighting a hurricane-force thunder squall today rammed the Sunshine Skyway bridge, ripping down a section of the span and knocking a Greyhound bus and several cars into Tampa Bay. Remembering the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Collapse. He discusses the sinking of a Coast Guard cutter a mere three months before Skyway collapsed and the Department of Transportation's dire warnings about the bridge's condition. Six cars, a truck, and a bus plunged 150 feet into Tampa Bay, killing 35 people. Unveiled at the ceremony Saturday morning, . The bus was near the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge Wednesday afternoon when Thomas Grove, 61, fell out of his seat, passengers and authorities said. The Skyway Bridge collapse accident disaster, May 9th, 1980. In light of the Minnesota bridge collapse I wanted to share the mayday called immediately following the Skyway Bridge Collapse on May 9th 1980. . Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley set out to ensure food safety. The tasters were recognized for their courage, and became known as the poison squad. At 7:33 a.m. on May 9, 1980, the freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a pier (support column) of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge during a blinding thunderstorm, sending over 1,200 feet (370 m) of the bridge plummeting into Tampa Bay. This is the actual Mayday call pilot John Lerro made to the Coast Guard on May 9, 1980 when the Summit Venture hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. On May 9, 1980, tragedy struck Tampa Bay when a 600-ft cargo ship struck the Sunshine Skyway Bridge causing a segment of the bridge to collapse. It was on May 9, 1980 when the unthinkable happened: The freighter M/V Summit Venture collided with a support column during a blinding thunderstorm, knocking a . But sometimes the reasons can be so complex as to be thought random. Many inquests were held, but, in the end, investigators concluded that the disaster was “an act of God.” On May 8, John Calloway, 19, boarded a Greyhound bus in Alabama. A freighter ship hit the bridge during a heavy rainstorm on May 9, 1980, sending several cars and . Part five in a series. May marks the 39th anniversary of when part of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed into Tampa Bay after being struck by a freighter during a storm, sending seven vehicles and a Greyhound bus into the water and killing 35 people. Sunshine Skyway Bridge - 1980. WTVT's crews covered the tragedy for hours from the land, the air, and even from the water -- a rare event in the days of limited news-gathering technology. The longest span is 1,200 feet (366 meters) long and the bridge's deck is located at . He discusses the sinking of a Coast Guard cutter a mere three months before Skyway collapsed and the Department of Transportation's dire warnings about the bridge's condition. They died in the six cars, truck and Greyhound bus that fell 150 feet into the water below. The marker where the turn takes place is only seven boat lengths from the bridge, leaving scant time to make any last-minute course corrections. One man survived when his pickup, still on the roadbed, landed on the deck of the Summit Venture, then bounced into the water. Richard Hornbuckle’s car rests where it skidded to a stop 14 inches from the edge of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, struck by the freighter Summit Venture in St. Petersburg on May 9, 1980. A 400-foot (120 m) section of bridge collapsed onto freighter and into the river. At least 31 people died. Experience the drama of: The Great Citrus Freeze of 1895, which ruined the Florida citrus crop for nearly a decade The tidal wave that wiped out a train carrying 577 storm evacuees in 1935 Two of the biggest tragedies seen in space: the ... The collision caused six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet into the water, killing 35 people. The present Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which replaced both early spans, cost $224 million and opened in April, 1987. It was then-governor Bob Graham who made the decision to tear down and modernize, rather than re-build the twin Skyway spans as they were. PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Sunday marks 41 years since the Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster that killed 35 people and rocked the Tampa Bay area. 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