From staff reports

Update 7:50 p.m.

Police believe alcohol may have been a factor in the serious wreck Sunday afternoon that caused the Pensacola Bay Bridge to close in both directions for more than two hours.

The crash remained under investigation Sunday night and authorities said charges were pending, according to a news release from the Gulf Breeze Police Department.

Police say Kristavia Johnson, 29, of Pensacola was driving a beige Nissan Altima northbound on the bridge at about 3:30 p.m.

Johnson was traveling in the left lane at a "high rate of speed" and struck an orange median marking cone before then swerving to the right and hitting the outer retaining wall, according to police.

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Authorities said the Nissan then crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a white Lincoln Navigator.

The Lincoln came to rest in the northbound lanes and the Nissan came to rest with the rear bumper against the outer retaining wall of the southbound lanes.

The people inside the Nissan were not wearing their seat belts and were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Two young children — a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old — were passengers in the Nissan and were not restrained at the time of the crash, according to police.

The driver of the Lincoln, 46-year-old Miranda Casmiro of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and the passengers in her car were wearing seat belts and were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

Update 6:30 p.m.

The Pensacola Bay Bridge has reopened after a serious crash late Sunday afternoon. Police cautioned that traffic will be slow going in both directions due to the heavy traffic.

The bridge was closed in both directions for more than two and a half hours as police responded to a crash that was reported at about 3:45 p.m. The bridge reopened at about 6:25 p.m.

Gulf Breeze Police Chief Rick Hawthorne said two people were in serious conditions after the crash.

He said a driver who was heading north on the bridge was driving erratically and hit a side wall before colliding head-on with a vehicle in oncoming traffic.

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Update 4:55 p.m.

Two people were in serious condition Sunday evening after a wreck on the Pensacola Bay Bridge, Gulf Breeze Police Chief Rick Hawthorne told the News Journal.

Hawthorne said a northbound driver was “driving erratically” and hit a side wall before colliding head on with a vehicle in the southbound lane.

Hawthorne said investigators were on the scene and additional information would be provided later. Traffic was shut down in both direction on the bridge for more than an hour.

Original story

The Pensacola Bay Bridge is closed in both directions as police investigate a serious crash.

The Pensacola Police Department tweeted at 3:45 p.m. that the bridge was closed as police responded to the scene.

Police posted on social media at 4:10 p.m. that the crash was serious, and the bridge would be closed "for some time" as police respond.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.