Man killed by I-75 bridge collapse

Update: As of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, all debris was removed from southbound I-75 at the site of the Hopple Street bridge collapse.

Cincinnati police opened all lanes on southbound I-75 and all eastbound I-74 lanes that merge onto I-75.

The Cincinnati Police Department partnered with the Ohio Department of Transportation to expedite the opening of the roadway.

Original story: The tragic case of the man killed in the Interstate 75 overpass collapse was closed relatively quickly, Cincinnati and Hamilton County officials said Tuesday.

Brandon Carl, 35, of Augusta, Kentucky, died when the Hopple Street overpass bridge suffered a "catastrophic pancake" collapse, according to the Hamilton County Coroner's office.

Carl was standing on the overpass and was crushed to death, the city confirmed during the Tuesday press conference in Camp Washington.

Cincinnati Fire Department and other emergency personnel used air bags to lift the heavy beams that crushed Carl. His body was recovered at 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, more than four hours after the structure collapsed.

A series of investigations conducted by multiple authorities must now take place in order to reopen the roadway - a major artery in Greater Cincinnati - and restore normal traffic patterns to the area.

In addition to the city's investigation, the Ohio Department of Transportation said Kokosing Construction Co, in charge of bridge removal, is doing a "forensic investigation" of why the bridge collapsed. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also conducting investigations into Carl's death.

When the initial investigations end, Kokosing will remove road debris, officials said. After that, the road surface will be assessed to make sure vehicles can use it safely, repairs will be made and then I-75 South will be reopened. That could take two days. Officials asked motorists to keep using alternative routes until told otherwise.

I-75 South traffic is being diverted to I-74 West. I-74 inbound can take I-75 North or get off on Colerain Avenue or Beekman Street and use area streets. Police will man large intersections during rush hour Tuesday, police said.

Cincinnati Police Department LtC. James Whalen said his department is preparing for southbound I-75 to remain closed through at least Wednesday.

The old Hopple Street ramp was being prepared for demolition when it collapsed at about 10:45 p.m. Monday, ODOT said. "It's a routine operation," an ODOT spokesman said during the Tuesday press conference.

Kokosing is a "very safety conscious contractor" with very good safety record, the ODOT spokesman said.



Enquirer pictures appear to show huge beams holding the bridge crushed the backhoe.

The "catastrophic pancake collapse" happened about 10:30 p.m. as a crew prepared the old Hopple Street overpass for demolition, according to a statement from the city. It was part of the old northbound off-ramp to Hopple Street. The new bridge is now open and remains open.

As the old bridge collapsed to the ground, a semi driver crashed into the rubble almost simultaneously -- some of the debris still falling onto the front of the semi.

Cincinnati police identified the semi driver as 35-year-old Eric Meyers of Howell, Michigan. An update on Meyers' condition was not immediately available.

The city said it would launch an investigation of what caused the collapse. According to an Enquirer review of federal bridge inspection data, the bridge did not appear to have any structural problems.

The Hopple Street ramp received a sufficiency rating of 77, considered a strong grade. By comparison, the Brent Spence Bridge received a rating of 59; the nearby Western Hills Viaduct had a 36. The crumbling viaduct is classified as structurally deficient.

The Hopple Street ramp was considered "functionally obsolete," which means it does not meet current design standards. That categorization is not a measure of its structural integrity and was likely put into place due to the lack of emergency breakdown lanes.

Data for 2014 won't be available until March or April.

"What appears to have happened is, in essence, an industrial incident -- a workplace incident with respect to a construction crew that's doing work out here," city manager Harry Black said. "Something went wrong, and a tragedy has occurred as a result."

A piece of construction equipment was moving concrete when the bridge gave way, said Cincinnati Police Captain Doug Wiesman. The equipment tipped as it slid and Carl was pinned underneath it.

A brother, father of four lost in the wreckage

Crystal Hargett, of Bracken County, said she got a phone call shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday from her husband, Billy, saying that he had just lost his best friend. Billy Hargett was on top of the old overpass with the victim minutes before the collapse. He'd just walked away from the bridge when he turned and saw the collapse. He rushed over to try, unsuccessfully, to save the victim.

"Billy said he just pulled his brother out," Hargett said through tears. "They were so close that [Billy] called him his brother. They drove to work together every day."

Hargett said the victim's mother, fiancée and 14-year-old daughter were all at the scene early Tuesday morning. Three more children slept at home.

"You're looking at three children under the age of 9 at home in Kentucky that are going to wake up looking for their daddy," Hargett said. "And his fiancée, they were high school sweethearts. It's heartbreaking."

The victim and Billy Hargett were a part of a crew that normally worked during the day, Crystal Hargett said. Demolition work on the old Hopple Street bridge brought them to a nighttime shift this week.

"They shouldn't have been out there this week," Hargett said.

Police declined to release the name of the victim early Tuesday, pending full notification of family.

A second person – a semi-tractor trailer driver – was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with minor injuries.

"I can tell you that the big rig driver – the semi driver is very lucky," said Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell. "In a matter of seconds his fate would have probably been different."

Over the course of the night, dozens of onlookers had stopped their cars on the new Hopple Street bridge, on the shoulder of the interstate or on a nearby off ramp. More than two dozen construction workers, who were still wearing their reflective vests and helmets, lingered at the scene at 1 a.m.

When Bill Tieke heard the news of a major bridge collapse he drove to the scene immediately, despite it being close to midnight. Tieke, of Cincinnati, ran heavy equipment in the Army and for the city for 30 years.

"I don't know how this could have happened," Tieke said. "Accidents happen. I've knocked down a building before, but I've still never seen something like this."

Brett Bartling, who's a demolition contractor and firefighter in Delhi Township, also went to the scene.

"An egregious error or an engineering miscalculation? Maybe a combination of both," Bartling said as he overlooked the scene from atop the new Hopple Street overpass.

"It's unreal. The fortunate thing is this didn't happen during the day, or it could've been a lot worse."

Initial investigations reveals that an excavator was being operated on top of the bridge, but officials are still working to determine what triggered the collapse.

Southbound I-75 will be closed until at least late Wednesday. The city tweeted: "Plan ahead, leave early, expect delays."

"This will be a mess. It's not could or should. It will be," Blackwell said of the Tuesday morning commute.

Remaking the Hopple Street interchange is the centerpiece of a $91 million overhaul of I-75 between the Western Hills Viaduct and the I-74 interchange.

Clarification, Jan. 21: This story has been updated to reflect further information that Mr. Carl was not inside the excavator at the time of the overpass collapse. Read about the latest developments here.

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