MIAMI (AP) - The Latest on a bridge collapse near a Florida university (all times local):
1:15 p.m.
Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene of a pedestrian bridge collapse near a Florida university campus even before witnesses could finish making 911 calls for help.
Miami-Dade Police on Thursday released 15 calls made in the moments after the collapse on March 15.
Sirens could be heard blaring behind several frantic callers moments after the 950-ton (860-metric ton) structure fell into traffic.
One woman told a 911 dispatcher that “a lot of cars” were under the collapsed bridge.
A male caller said the bridge had fallen across the entire road. He said people had been working on the bridge when it dropped. He added that the scene was “a big, big mess.”
The bridge was intended to span a busy roadway between Florida International University and the neighboring city of Sweetwater. The collapse killed six people.
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1 p.m.
Another lawsuit has been filed in the collapse of the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University, this one from the family of one of the six people who were killed.
Miami attorney Christos Lagos said Thursday the wrongful death lawsuit was filed in state court on behalf of the minor son and wife of victim Rolando Fraga. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Munilla Construction Management and FIGG Bridge Engineers, the two main entities involved in the bridge construction.
The lawsuit claims the two companies were negligent because they had warning that a public safety hazard existed and the flow of traffic beneath the bridge should have been shut down while work was being performed. It collapsed March 15.
Several other lawsuits have also been filed since the collapse.
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