![]() ![]() “He was very traumatized by the accident and the losses that occurred,” said Tulsa attorney Joel Wohlegemuth, who represented Dedmon.įishermen participating in a tournament on the Arkansas River shot flares to stop traffic and attempted to rescue people in the water. “But I look upon those other people and I hurt for them.”Īfter an investigation, it was determined by the National Transportation Safety Board that the tugboat pilot’s, William Joe Dedmon, heart condition caused him to black out while steering the boat. “Since then, I’m thankful that God spared my life,” Alley said. She suffered cracked ribs and bruises and her husband broke his back. When something happens that fast, you’re trying to figure out what happened.”Īlley and her husband were traveling on I-40 that morning when their van dropped 60 feet, coming to a rest on broken pavement below. ET).“You didn’t have time to think,” Goldie Alley, 78, told the Tulsa World in 2012. “A lot of people said, ‘I guess you prayed and got right with God.’ Let me tell you, you better be ready at all times. Joe Dedmon, captain of the tugboat Robert Y. The site is about 40 miles from the border with Arkansas. Emergency management officials predicted several fatalities in a bridge collapse over the Arkansas River Sunday, estimating that about five to 12 victims. The I-40 bridge disaster was a bridge collapse that occurred in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma on May 26, 2002. "There are probably thousands of cars that travel over this bridge every day." Jarrett Johnson of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. A 580-foot section of the bridge plunged into the water near Webbers Falls, taking with it several cars and tractor-trailers.Reports say the driver of the barge, Joe Dedmon, experienced some sort. "This bridge carries all the traffic from Arkansas west," said Sgt. About 170 boats had taken off from the nearby river town of Webbers Falls earlier that. I-40 is the major east-west route through Oklahoma. Bass anglers save lives following Oklahoma bridge collapse. Authorities believe several people were killed. There's debris, baby diapers and car seats up and down this side of the embankment."įive people were rescued from the water. "It's pretty bad it's pretty sickening," the Marine reservist said. He said that on the surface, "It's pretty nasty." Volunteer diver Josef Blann said visibility under water was so bad he could just see his hand in front of his face. ![]() Rescue divers were brought in to help, but the search was too dangerous because of the strong current and concerns about the structural stability of the collapsed bridge. Freight barges being transported on the Arkansas River collided with a pier supporting the Interstate 40 road bridge crossing the river. The Webber Falls bridge collapse in 2002 was a traumatic disaster for the Cherokee, Choctaw and Creek Nations because it set a long rescue and then recovery. "He was following a truck and he says it just disappeared in front of him, and that he couldn't get stopped and he didn't remember, he doesn't know how he got out of his truck," Morgan said. The I-40 bridge disaster was a bridge collapse that occurred southeast of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, United States at 7:45 a.m. Morgan said he was there to help one truck driver who was able to make it to shore. "As I looked over the edge, I saw some fishermen pulling a body out of the water and he was alive, he was helping himself up," Hanlon said. He said when he arrived at the scene it was "like in the movies," with a tractor-trailer hanging over the edge of the bridge. WEBBERS FALLS, Oklahoma (CNN) - Search crews Wednesday recovered the body of a 3-year-old girl who died with her parents when their vehicle plunged into the Arkansas River after a barge. NTSB Bridge Failure Recommendations: Webbers Falls, OK: A towboat on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River veered off course and rammed a pier of the I-40 highway. Participants in the tournament immediately alerted authorities and helped in the rescue effort, said Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Hanlon. He said that at first he thought a boat had exploded.Īnother witness said she saw two cars fall into the river "with a big splash."Ībout a dozen vehicles fell into the river. Morgan said he heard a "real loud rolling thunder noise" that lasted a few seconds. "It was a quiet Sunday morning, and you're sitting there watching the fisherman have a good time, and then all of a sudden you hear this, and you could even feel it, the ground when it fell," said John Morgan, who watched the bridge collapse. WEBBERS FALLS, Oklahoma (CNN) - Participants and spectators of a fishing tournament were horrified by what they saw Sunday when a barge slammed into an Interstate 40 bridge, plunging cars and tractor-trailers into the Arkansas River. ![]()
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