Raleigh woman's father traveled over Baltimore bridge hours before collapse

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Tuesday, March 26, 2024
"There's days where I've been on the bridge waiting for traffic to get over it, so it's kind of scary seeing how it fell."
BALTIMORE (WTVD) -- Many ABC11 employees have close ties to the Baltimore area, and one of our workers grew up in Baltimore and her family still lives there. Her father, Kevin Perry, regularly takes the Francis Scott Key Bridge and drove over it just hours before it collapsed.

Perry uses the bridge to get home from the airport, and flew in Monday night, causing him to use the bridge around 11 p.m. The bridge collapsed at 1:30 a.m. the next morning.
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"We definitely heard the boom from the house and felt the rumble," Perry told ABC11. "It definitely woke us up."

He later learned what had happened, and it hit close to home.

A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
FBI divers assist in the search and rescue at the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Tuesday, March 26, in Baltimore, Maryland.ABCNews
A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md.none
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.none
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md.none
A container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
A container ship rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
The wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits in the water on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md.none
The 948-foot container ship Dali, a Singapore-flagged vessel owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd, struck Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge at about 1:30 a.m., officials saynone
Aerial view of Baltimore bridge collapsenone
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"There's days where I've been on the bridge waiting for traffic to get over it, so it's kind of scary seeing how it fell and knowing that if it had happened at a time that I was on it, it would've been a bad situation," Perry said.
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Perry said he had to take an alternate route to work Tuesday morning and knows traffic will be affected for the foreseeable future.



He also mentioned that aside from the traffic issues and the concerns with the port being closed, the bridge also represents an important part of history for those who live in Baltimore.

It's named after Francis Scott Key because it's believed to be close to where he saw the bombing of Fort McHenry, which inspired him to write the national anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner.
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