Baltimore bridge collapse survivor recounts fighting for his life in NBC interview
BALTIMORE — The only person to survive a fall from the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore during the bridge’s construction, catastrophic collapse says he watched in horror as his colleagues, friends and family members plummeted to their deaths.
In a exclusive interview with NBC News that aired Wednesday night, Julio Cervantes Suarez described fighting for his life after his truck fell into the Patapsco River. He was part of a roadwork crew filling in holes in the bridge when a massive cargo ship lost power and crashed into one of the support pillars on March 26.
Six people died in the collapse, including Cervantes Suarez’s nephew and brother-in-law. An inspector working with the crew was able to escape and refused medical treatment.
Cervantes Suarez, 37, who had not previously spoken publicly about his experience, said the men were in their construction vehicles on a break when the bridge suddenly began to crumble beneath them. A last-minute emergency call from the ship’s pilot had allowed nearby police officers to stop traffic to the bridge moments earlier, but they did not have enough time to alert the workers.
Cervantes Suarez said that facing death, he thanked God for his family.
Miraculously, he was able to manually roll down the window of his rapidly sinking truck and climb into the icy water.
“That’s when I realized what had happened,” he told NBC News in Spanish. “I looked at the bridge and he wasn’t there anymore.”
He said he called his companions by name, but no one answered. Unable to swim, he clung to a piece of floating concrete until rescuers rescued him. He was taken to hospital for treatment of a chest wound.
Cervantes Suarez said he is still reeling from the fall and is mourning an unimaginable loss.
All of the victims were Latin American immigrants who moved to the US in search of work.
Immediately after the collapse, Baltimore County’s close-knit Latino community built an elaborate memorial where loved ones often gathered as divers continued to search the wreck for human remains. It took six weeks for all bodies were recovered.
“They were good people, good workers and they had good values,” Cervantes Suarez said.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board has found that the wayward cargo ship Dali had a power outage before beginning his journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the exact causes of the electrical problems have yet to be determined. The FBI is also conducting a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the disaster.
The ship’s owner and manager, both Singapore-based companies, filed a petition in court shortly after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability. City of Baltimoreamong other entities, have contested that claim, accusing the companies of negligence. Lawyers representing victims of the collapse and their families, including Cervantes Suarez, have also vowed holding companies accountable.
A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe for what could be one of the costliest maritime disasters in history.
Officials have promised rebuild the bridgewhich could cost at least $1.7 billion and take several years.
During a Senate committee hearing Wednesday morning, Maryland senators reiterated their calls for Congress to pass a budget measure that would allow the federal government to fund 100 percent of the reconstruction effort.
The remaining parts of the bridge will be demolished in the coming months to make way for the new construction, local media reported earlier this week.