Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Meeting a bridge collapse survivor.

It has been two weeks since the 35W bridge collapse took place. The tragedy is still fresh in everyone’s minds as clean up and recovery efforts continue.

While watching KSTP’s live coverage of the event 14 days ago, the one story that stood out was that of a 32-year old woman who was on the bridge when it collapsed.


"Lucky, we’re really lucky." Those are the exact words from a woman who survived the bridge collapse on 35W in Minneapolis early Wednesday evening.

Melissa Hughes and her three-month-old child are okay after a truck fell on their red vehicle.

Melissa Hughes’ car was on a segment of bridge where 10 cars were involved.


"We were at a dead stop and I remember being suspended in the air and people in their cars and felling kind of a free fall and falling a little bit," Hughes said. "I stepped on my brake and grabbed my steering wheel. I didn’t know if I was going backwards or not, and suddenly there was a large crash and I saw my rear window broken out."

A pick-up fell on her car.


As it turns out, she is an employee at the company where I have been working on a contract basis over the past two weeks.

I was ecstatic to have met her in person! I just had to convey to her how amazed I was by the poise and calmness she displayed within four hours after such a horrific scene.

See the video of Melissa being interviewed here.

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