A loaded cargo ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday, sending people and vehicles into the waters below. Here are some other notable episodes of U.S. bridges collapsing after being struck by vessels:
2012: EGGNER’S FERRY BRIDGE, KENTUCKY
A span of the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge collapsed after it was struck by the cargo vessel Delta Mariner on Jan. 26, 2012. There were several vehicles on the bridge at the time that were all able to stop before the broken section, and no injures were recorded.
2009: POPP’S FERRY BRIDGE, MISSISSIPPI
Eight towed barges collided with the Popp’s Ferry Bridge near Biloxi, Mississippi, on March 20, 2009. A large span of the bridge collapsed into the bay, but no injuries were reported.
2002: INTERSTATE 40, OKLAHOMA
On May 26, 2002, 14 people were killed after freight barges being moved by a towboat crashed into a pier of an Interstate 40 bridge over a reservoir near Webbers Fall, Oklahoma, collapsing about a third of the bridge.
2001: QUEEN ISABELLA CAUSEWAY, TEXAS
On Sept. 15, 2001, four loaded barges struck a support of the Queen Isabella Causeway near Texas’s South Padre Island, causing a partial collapse and killing eight people.
1993: BIG BAYOU CANOT BRIDGE, ALABAMA
Loaded barges struck the Big Bayou Canot Bridge near Mobile, Alabama, on Sept. 22, 1993, displacing and deforming the rail’s on the bridge. Minutes later, an Amtrak passenger train derailed and plunged into the water, killing 47 people and injuring 103 more.
1980: SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE, FLORIDA
The freighter MV Summit Venture hit a support pier of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near St. Petersburg, Florida, during bad weather on May 9, 1980, plunging vehicles including a Greyhound bus into the Tampa Bay and killing 35 people.
1972: SIDNEY LANIER BRIDGE, GEORGIA
A freighter hit the Sidney Lanier drawbridge near Brunswick, Georgia, on Nov. 7, 1972, collapsing it into the river below, killing 10 people.
— Compiled by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Josie Kao
