I-Team: Why did 2 Wake Tech bridges collapse?
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The funeral for the worker killed in last week's Wake Tech footbridge collapse was held Monday in Raleigh. The body of Jose Luis Rosales-Nava will be flown to Mexico later this week for burial.
Meantime, the big question is still: what happened Thursday - and then Friday - morning? Why did two footbridges under construction at Wake Tech collapse?
Friday morning's accident collapse happened early enough in the morning that no one was working on the bridge. Thursday's collapse wasn't as well timed, however.
Five workers with Raleigh-based J.O. Concrete were on the bridge when it went down. According to 43-year-old Jose Hernandez Salinas, all five are Mexican and in the U.S. on work visas. Salinas says they're all skilled concrete workers who pick up regular work as day laborers with J.O. Concrete. Salinas says Thursday was his first day on the job and at that site.
"We just got there to drop the cement and supposedly it was already inspected," Salinas said.
However, the morning quickly turned into tragedy.
"I heard that something broke," Salinas said. "It was kind of like a bomb as if it had exploded. Then I looked down and saw that everything had collapsed. Then I thought to myself, 'I'm going down.' And I just closed my eyes and fell."
"I feel worse for my friend," Salinas continued. "I wasn't able to help him and I saw him fall. I saw the wood fall on top of him and I just yelled, 'Hold on, hold on.' I wanted to help him but I started to feel dizzy. I kept walking but I collapsed and I don't remember anything from there."
He and three others were taken to the hospital. As of Monday evening, Salinas was the only one to get out. He says he'll be in a neck brace for another three months and may need surgery after that.
What exactly happened is unclear. Murvyn Kowalsky, a professor of structural engineering at NC State says it's almost certainly one of two things: a problem with the design or with the construction. Short of that, though, Kowalsky says we'll have to wait on the official investigation.
However, Salinas says it wasn't their fault. "They didn't analyze clearly what was going on and these were the consequences," he said, criticizing the design of the bridge. "If they had had columns every 10 feet then it might have been able to support itself but it didn't. They only had wires."
Depending on what caused the collapse, Salinas says he expects some kind of legal action, perhaps a civil lawsuit. He, along with his four friends in the accident, has a wife and kids. He says he doesn't know how his family will make it during his recovery. He's hoping the contractor who hired him, J.O. Concrete, will pay them for the days they're out of work.
The widow of the one worker to die in Thursday's accident says she's already heard from the company in charge of the overall project at Wake Tech, Skanska, and was told they will help her and the other victims in the meantime.
The company that designed the bridge - Stewart engineering of Raleigh - issued a statement Wednesday:
"We extend our deepest sympathy to the victims and their families involved in the construction tragedy at Wake Tech campus. Our prayers are with them during this difficult time. We are cooperating fully with the investigation. It is important to determine the exact cause of the collapse of the pedestrian bridges that were under construction. At this point, we do not know the exact cause. We have engaged a team of specialized engineers to assist local authorities. Again, we extend our deepest sympathy to the victims and their families."
