The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror
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- Опубликовано: 15 май 2024
- "On the 9th of May, 1980, early morning travellers on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida found their view of Tampa Bay obstructed by a thick fog..."
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - Background
02:30 - The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster
08:08 - The Aftermath
MUSIC:
► "Glass Pond" by Public Memory
SOURCES:
► "See historic photos from the Sunshine Skyway bridge disaster 42 years ago" by Martha Asencio-Rhine, published by the Tampa Bay Times, May 2020. Link: www.tampabay.com/news/2020/05...
► "John Lerro, 59; Harbor Pilot Haunted by Role in Deadly Bridge Accident" by Myrna Oliver, published by the Los Angeles Times, September 2002. Link: www.latimes.com/archives/la-x...
► "40 years after the Skyway bridge disaster, divers can’t forget what they saw underwater" by Gabrielle Calise, published by the Tampa Bay Times, May 2020. Link: www.tampabay.com/narratives/2...
► "The first Skyway bridge opened 66 years ago. It was a triumph. Then came the tragedy" by Gabrielle Calise, published by the Tampa Bay Times, September 2019. Link: www.tampabay.com/news/florida...
► "The Skyway Bridge tragedy at 40: The survivor" by Bill DeYoung, published by Catalyst, May 2020. Link: stpetecatalyst.com/the-skyway...
CORRECTIONS:
► At several points during this video, I state that the MV Summit Venture was leaving Tampa Bay when the disaster took place. In fact, it was arriving into Tampa Bay, not leaving.
#Documentary #History #TrueStories
The image of that car stopped inches short of the gaping void is absolutely heart-stopping.
I can't quite imagine getting out of the car and managing to scurry up the dangling roadway... Yikes
@@javirancheros8781 The only "saving grace" I can think of is that the fog at the time would have hid just how precarious it was!
This whole situation is _easily_ one of my worst nightmares, and my anxiety-riddled brain can cook up some pretty horrifying shit
@@javirancheros8781 👁️👄👁️
I remember the next day that gold Buick stopping just short of the void was on the front page of every newspaper in Florida.
The actual distress call to the coast guard can be found on RUclips. It's actually pretty chilling. When the captain says, "Stop all the traffic on the Skyway Bridge!" He's literally yelling it, as he had just witnessed a pickup truck drive off the fallen span and bounce off the deck of Summit Venture. The driver, Wesley Macintire, miraculously survived.
@@lilmarkiep8363 ok calm down boomer
@@alwaysOPEN4business you guys should set up a fight somewhere.
@@bobbythompson4268 The Twinky would lose!
@@alwaysOPEN4business
🍆👊🤡
@@jimichan7649 lol yes prob.
My husband was on the bridge when this occurred. He was picking up a large commercial motor and was coming back to the East coast. Luckily for him when the incident occurred traffic was able to come to a halt. All vehicles were told they would have to turn around by law enforcement. Hubby was driving a semi and no way to just turn around. The bridge had to be cleared so he could back it up. He said that was scary too!
Glad he was ok!!
Wow
Final destination stuff.
Wow! I can only imagine
I’m happy for you your husband survived.
My Mother and Father were Paramedics who worked this call. My mother told me about it when I was a teen in the 90’s. I remember her crying and telling me how useless they felt as all they could do was stand by and watch them recover the bodies. It was a terrible tragedy.
I hope this day your parents are blessed abundantly.. thank you for sharing this, it really takes those who are extreme to overcome the sadness.
Im a medic of 10 years and I cant even imagine working an incident like this. Godbless your folks and please thank them for their service.
It's easy to forget the toll these awful incidents take on the first responders. Bless your parents, I hope they got the help they needed, although back then probably not.
@@Kifflington My mother ended up leaving for a different field in health care but my father decided to stay on as a volunteer until he retired two years ago. He was very open about how the cases they worked impacted their lives. Same with my mother. They saw the danger in things that the average person didn’t.
I’m happy to say that now mental health is recognized for EMT/Fire/Police and dispatch. I’m glad they take it seriously and that this generation of first responders will always have the support they need.
😢 that's terrible. I Currently & do reside in the Tampa Bay area 22 yrs now..& I've heard "stories" but none told by actual emergency responders... my gosh, my heart ❤goes out to them, already a tragic situation & to be THERE & feel utterly helpless as TRULY there's not much 1 could do. 😢 I can't imagine. Thx 4 sharing.
It's at least refreshing to hear a captain being in an incident and immediately thinking about the risk to lives rather than covering their ass.
Yeah, I was relieved to hear he wasn't charged with anything. It sounds like he had done everything he could; it just sounds like he was working off of poor information.
That's what most captains do/would do, but youtube videos for the most part selectively cover the bad ones.
Definitely, unlike the cowardly POS captain of the Yarmouth Castle.
@@PointNemo9 the worse the disaster, the bigger the viewcount. You don't hear a whole lot about disasters where someone made a mistake and then did what they could to fix it, since those tend to turn out better.
@@whydidimakethischannel5545 Well it's in human nature to focus on the most newsworthy and historically significant incidents throughout time. That's not something unique to RUclipsrs or even ones that focus on infrastructure accidents. You'd find it pretty silly if the 11 o'clock news prioritized reporting on the mild collision down the road that ended in a couple of stiff necks over the drunk driver who killed a family of four, wouldn't you? Not to imply that the news does not also care about view counts. I just think there is additional explanation beyond greed.
The fear of being completely helpless as you watch your life come to an end is the stuff of nightmares.
RIP to all those who perished.
😢
My entire childhood I had a recurring dream that I would die on a water bridge like this. ugh.
Whenever you feel outta control, just pump the breaks.
The Second Death is far worse and is avoidable.
you look like that revenge of the nerds guy
@@87dramarama 😂
My grandparents died in this accident (smith, NJ) orphaning my mother. She doesn’t talk about it much but we’re glad you covered it. Keeping the memory alive.
Edit: it’s pretty crazy this showed up in my recommendations too. I’ve never watched this channel or searched for info on it. I found this purely by algorithm. 0.0
Sorry that happened to your moms bro shit sucks
@@gloveboxnapkins2866 thanks bro.
This all happened before I was born of course but it’s always been a big part of her life for sure.
How sad for them and for your mother. May they rest in peace❤
I'm so very sorry about your grandpa parents and sorry that I made a joke about the bridge in an earlier comment.
May God bless you and your family 🙏🏾
I have vivid memories of riding over the original bridge as a child. I would lay in the back of the station wagon, looking up at the huge Iron pillars above us as we passed under them. It seemed almost unbelievable when it collapsed.
I was almost 7 years old and lived in St. Petersburg, when the Skyway was struck.
I remember that morning vividly. My mother always put my older brother on the high school bus then, woke my brother and I to get us ready. That morning, when she put my brother on his bus, the weather was fine. By the time she woke us, 15 minutes later, the TV was issuing tornado warnings & this torrential storm had come from out of nowhere.
It was the first time I ever saw my mother scared and upset. She told me she had a gut feeling something bad was gonna happen. She was calling the bus compound and my older brothers school frantic to make sure his bus arrived safely at school.
This storm was so sudden and so severe that she had decided to keep my other brother and I home. We were told to sit on the couch while she made the calls to search for my brother's bus.
I remember looking out the front window, the yard was flooding, the wind was grabbing garbage cans and debri. It was literally worse than the lower grade hurricanes I saw later in life. I remember thinking, I've never seen a storm like this before.
Suddenly, the TV made an emergency announcement, "The Sunshine Skyway has just been struck by a barge!" My mothers premonition was right, but, it wasn't about my brother's bus, he made it to school safely.
I stayed home that day while the news slowly informed us of what had actually occurred. It showed the pictures of this bridge I thought was indestructible, just torn in half.
It was the first time I had witnessed mass grief that lasted for days. The stores were so weirdly quiet. There was either complete silence or quiet talk amongst strangers about the Skyway.
The remaining span was turned into 2 way traffic across the bridge. My father drove the family over it to see the other spans destruction. It taught me nothing is indestructible no matter how strong it may seem.
I am almost 50 years old and this memory is vivid like yesterday. I have a special connection to this bridge because of it. My heart goes out to everyone who lost their lives that day.
Thanks for sharing your recommendations
I love the rich stories people chime in with in historical events as your experience adds to detail to paint a broader picture! Amazing what kids remember!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Thanks for sharing your recollections
You have excellent writing skills and amazing story telling abilities! #gifted ❤ Thanks for sharing!
Probably my favourite disaster channel along with Plainly Difficult. I like it how you don't seem to try to make things dramatic, it's just a level voice all the way through.
Thought the same thing. I also hate how plainly difficult rates disasters its like not a competition
I cant stand P.D. honestly. If you enjoy this channel you'll love Brick Immortar. Guy does fantastic long-form docs on disasters and accidents and does it all himself.
@@chaoticcatartist he's gotten rid of the disaster scale, only the legacy scale remains.
Stop kissing ass.
I like the level voice as well. It is actually calming despite the story being very tragic but taking nothing from the tragedy itself
The lesson from this incident, as well as the 1975 Tasman Bridge disaster, is that if you see someone going the wrong way on a bridge waving at you, you should stop.
Yea that still wouldn't happen because People are so fvcking stupid in today's world.
👍Simple & profound life saving advice. This from someone residing less than a 10 minute drive from last years major bridge collapse in Pittsburgh.
I have a weird bridge phobia and this is of no help at all. How terrifying for those people, and devastating for their loved ones.
not so weird
I just came here from a news story about a company that drives people (who are afraid) in their own cars over bridges.
Bridges freak me out
They should too.
Most bridges are in poor condition and need retrofitting or replacement.
But we don’t have money for that, but somehow we have 150 billion TAX PAYER dollars to give to the Ukraine.
@@deadreckoning292 You are focusing on the wrong issue. Helping Ukraine is the right thing to do, unless you support Russia gaining a bigger and bigger foothold. If we go back to pre-Reagan era tax rates for corporations and the wealthiest, and stop ridiculous corporate subsidies, we will have enough funds. Your taxpayer dollars also support corporations and oligarchs.
@@Alplily
No, I’m focusing on reality.
Our government’s priorities are all wrong. If we don’t have the money to maintain roads, bridges, and especially programs like social security and medicare, then we absolutely do not have the money to fund a war that is NOT OUR OWN.
With your logic, everyone should empty their bank accounts, max out their credit cards to feed and house the homeless because “it’s the right thing to do”
Which is completely delusional and unrealistic.
This is what happens when we give too much power to Democrats in DC. They are using Ukraine as a money laundering slush fund entity.
Demons like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the beyond corrupt Biden family will most certainly not be affected by any short fall in tax payer funded government programs.
I guarantee you that.
My big brother was flew into Tampa-St Pete that morning;heading to see my other brother who was in the hospital in Venice clinging to life. This horrible tragedy happened a few hours before he was to cross it and it was before cell phones. We saw it on the news but heard nothing from him for hours and the terror for all reasons was indescribable. He finally arrived (having seen the wreckage and felt the horrors)-we got him to the hospital in time for him to be at my brother’s side. He passed away 2 hours later. Somehow he held on even though he was in a coma(despite the Bridge tragedy)so that my big brother could say goodbye. I will never forget that day worrying about losing two brothers..
Wow. Amazing take. Sorry for your loss, but grateful not 2 brothers on same day
The fog around the Skyway is still scary as hell. I was taking my dad to the airport one time, and the fog just was suddenly there. It made me so anxious that I couldn't drive back across the Skyway to go home.
...and so you're still there ..????? 🤣🤣🤣🤣😉😉
I just got that! 😂
Typical for a woman...
deserves more likes
Yes.
As someone who has crossed the Mackinac bridge dozens of times and hates large bodies of water this is an absolute nightmare.
Given that one collision caused the bridge to fail, I’m now suspicious of other small bridges
@@jtgd it's not a small bridge!!
The original bridge had a much steeper climb and as you were approaching it, it would look like the road ahead was going straight up and as you were already on a narrow span high above the water it was an intimidating sight. The new bridge has a more gentle slope but it still looks much steeper than it is as you head straight towards it.
@@Lethgar_Smith makes me think of that bridge in Japan; the name escapes me. But if you've seen footage of it, you know 😉
Me too, I get dizzy and sick to my stomach driving across the Mackinac Bridge.
I remember first hearing about this when my parents took my brother and I to Florida in the early 1980's. The story I heard was the driver who first noticed something wrong when the car far in front of him (about 100+ feet) just disappeared. I can't even imagine just driving along in the fog, not thinking about anything other than getting home, and then going into a freefall into grey nothingness.
@TheRealNormanBates. Yes, I worked with that man and this is true, he noticed the taillights were disappearing so he stopped his car and tried to warn other vehicles. But the bus drove right past him. He was traveling south that morning to work in Bradenton.
Who came here from the Francis Scott Key Bridge video ?
Me lol
Yeah...here to see what was learned from this disaster that may have failed in the Francis Scott Key Bridge. I assume the height from that fall must have also had enough force to feel like hitting solid ground. Pretty crazy how the one dude in this video survived tho.
Me
I did.
All the cool people did. lol
So happy that this channel is almost at 1 million subscribers. So well deserved - no fluff, all content. What a great creator
Totally agree 👍
Absolutely correct.
I agree 1000%. This is easily one of the best channels on youtube. 💯💯🙏🙌
Probably the best channel in the last X years. No shilling bullshit, no advertising crap, no clickbaits, just straight to the point, neutrally reported facts. Great channel.
Sure does does all the recognition. 👍👏
For those who might be curious - this bridge connects the St. Petersburg (Pinellas County) area with the Manatee County area, and there are still remnants of the old bridge used today as fishing piers on either side of where they used to connect. Thank you for telling this story! I've been over this bridge hundreds of times having grown up in Bradenton, and I've heard countless stories of what happened but never heard such an all-encompassing version of the entirety of the events.
Oh my gosh, same here! I've lived in pinellas most of my life. I've worked with people who remember this instance and would recount their point of view, I and my brother fished over the old bridge, and as a huge animal lover I love seeing the wildlife that gathers there.
This was just one incident on the old bridge that's in living memory. There were so many attempted suicides that would close it down, so people would be stuck on the bridge till it opened back up. People would gather together and share food, diapers, even children's clothes and water. They knew it could take hours before they could go back to their cars.
I've rarely heard a story about saint pete marine officers doing something terrible enough to be put on channels like this. I'm just glad he prevented something even worse.
I'm from Manatee County I remember going over the old bridge when it was back down to two lanes before the new bridge opened. Today the bridge has suicide barriers on it ruining the view and people still get over the barriers. The new bridge has taken more lives than the old one.
I sometimes go fishing on the south pier. A bit expensive but always a good time. There's rumors that FWC might ban Sabiki rigs and treble hooks there to reduce bird entanglements. That'll really make catching bait fish a grind if that happens.
So THAT’s what those are! I never knew what those bits by the current bridge were. No matter what Grandma said… no, it is NOT like mountain driving at dawn! It is not like going skiing extra-early… the water reflects the light far more painfully than the snow ever could.
Driving from Tampa to Sarasota at 6am Florida time. That’s 4am Colorado time
I'm from Sarasota County and remember being told all about it whenever we pass the New Skyway
My grand father was a rescue diver on this mission. He was never the same after recovering people out of the water.
My mom had a reoccuring dream about driving into the water off the sunshine skyway. This was weeks before it fell. Mind you, she doesn't like tall bridges, but it's still creepy. You can still fish off the old bits of the bridge. There are also pieces of the old concrete used to make jetties. Next to the existing bridge. I always hated driving over it, it's creepy tall.
😮 almost like final destination
I would freak out when I was little, when we drove over the bridge...I'd cry " no! It's going to fall!".I remember trying to hide down in the floor board of the car. I was 11 when it fell. My mom was 😮...... I really believe the Lord warned many people the same way. I've heard more than one story about others who had similar experiences.
As a Tampa native and child of the 70s, this is still the first disaster that's embedded in my mind. The footage of the bus being craned out of the water is as vivid a memory to me as the plane hitting the second tower.
Wow! I've been thru a war and can't imagine living with THOSE memories. Somehow preventable stuff hurts more .. maybe coz I'm in civil engineering or the unnecessary loss of life, or both. I feel a certain shame we failed people when a bridge collapses, even though it's been over a decade since I've worked in my field (disabled).
Only one was what it appeared though, js
I also remember the plane hitting that tower in Tampa, Florida back on 2002. Lucky nobody was in the office at that time or they might have got hurt!
I hate to say it, but I honestly had never heard of this disaster. Now I do live in Pennsylvania which is pretty far away but my entire family on my mother's side live in Florida. You'd think someone would've remembered such a thing.
Anyway, I feel so sorry for these people and their families. I cannot imagine being on that bus, having no control of your own situation. I hope these people are resting in peace...what a horrible way to go.
@@whimsygrove9971 I was living in Houston at the time and it was the front page story, above the fold. It was national news.
Fair play to the John Larro for being concerned about getting the traffic stopped. Sounds to me like he was experienced enough to navigate the fog on instruments and it was them that let him down badly. Yeah, he probably should've stopped, but at the time it was probably a reasonable call to make. Good to hear his forward story, too, that's a nice epilogue.
Also, it's probably worth remembering, if you're on a bridge and you see a driver flailing wildly at you, it's probably a good idea to stop and not just whizz past like they're an idiot...
Especially in foggy conditions...
You probably use the word probably too much.
@@Kragith Nah, I definitely do, it would seem!
@@Kragith probably so
@@Kragith They used it very appropriately. It's a useful word. Weird thing to nitpick about, especially in casual internet context
I was a junior in high school when this happened. I knew the captain that hit the bridge. He was one of the kindest men I have ever known. This tragedy gutted him. My father was a harbor pilot and the president of the association at that time. Before that he was a captain on the Great Lakes and knew many of the men that went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald. RIP
I’m sorry he knew some of those who perished on the Edmund. That was especially hard
Florida is my home state. As a teenager I crossed the old Sunshine Skyway bridge both going to and returning from Sarasota. I went across this bridge again after the new expansion was installed. The newer span is beautiful. Who ever designed it did a great job. Thank you for this documentary on our Sunshine Skyway bridge. It was very informative.
I never knew of this disaster. It does explain why my Dad used to have us be completely silent while he 'concentrated on driving' while going over the bridge's replacement. It was already a bit unnerving because of the height but being quiet on top of that made it just that much worse when we were kids...
That's a beautiful story 😂
@@kirtknierim3687 do you have a personality disorder or something
I still silence everyone in the car when I drive over the new one. It gives me extreme anxiety.
Did you know you can wake up dead tomorrow? Live your life to the fullest.
@@vanessahammond3829
The new bridge is not scary at all. You barely know you are on a bridge. This is similar to the new Tappen Zee bridge. You barely know you are on a bridge.
Even today, I drive across the "new" bridge as fast as I legally can, all the while scanning as far ahead as I can for any missing roadway. I will never forget driving past the collapsed southbound lanes of the bridge and feeling horrified for the victims and the families they left behind.
If it makes you feel any better, the new bridge would likely survive an impact like this since they’ve heavily reinforced the spans in the water. Also, today they would 100% close the bridge during that kind of weather. So don’t be so nervous although Ik what you mean, I try not to look down when I’m driving over it😂.
I do the same. Recently we moved from St. Pete up to Orlando so I won't be crossing anytime soon. What happened with the old bridge is literally the source of my fear of big bridges. Especially the old cantilever steel ones.
@@IAmTheBoogeyManit can’t happen on new one
@@B727X oh I know. It’s definitely an irrational fear.
The guy who drove slow is the one who survived, FYI
I remember this happening. My family had just moved from Indiana to Pinellas Park Fl. I had just turned 16. My prayers go to all whose lives were changed that day.
I always found the current sunshine bridge terrifying. You can see the remnants of the old bridge as you drive up, it’s a fishing pier, and the wind up there is insane. Feels like you’re going straight up while someone is trying to push you off. Always hated driving that thing.
the old bridge being there is so creepy lol it’s like you can’t cross the skyway without thinking it once fell because the aftermath is still right there I probably wouldn’t have thoughts about the bridge potentially falling If i didn’t see 2 half’s of a bridge right next to me
I love the bridge. But I very much agree with you. The pier ends right where the old bridge collapsed. Like the ghost of a bridge.
I lived in Tampa Bay for over 20 years. I was hyper-vigilante every time I had to cross but avoided when possible.
😊
If you think the current one is scary, you should have seen the old one. It was very steep and very scary especially at night!
My father drove across this bridge the day it collapsed. Luckily it was before the ship had struck it. Imagine the horrible shock of finding out what happened later that day.
I finally had my chance to see the new bridge a few years ago. Even with the new bridge in place, it was quite a strange feeling to be present at the site of such a disaster that could've profoundly affected us all.
No he didn't.
@@the99thtimelord16 you're unloved
I live near the skyway. What will really blow your mind is we use the run up to the old bridge part as a fishing pier on both sides of the bay. It’s either a state or county park but I don’t go to there cause they started charging for it so f that.
@@tacticalspoon4506 Most of the US and State parks are now charging user fees, and some County parks are following suit. It really sucks IMHO but that's how it is now.
@@notoriouspc no you
The captain's story following the crash is very inspiring. He used his experience of absolute tragedy to educate others and he apparently recovered from his own trauma enough to later council others dealing with trauma in their lives --This along with dealing with multiple sclerosis. So sad. He did everything he could and still there was a bus that went down. That really is awful. People dealing with communication should have been able to reach every bus and major truck en-route for miles, so it must be their failure worth considering here too.
That's the harbor pilot, not the captain.
Few people think about the crews on trains that strike a vehicle or a pedestrian, and the horror of living with something that is completely not their fault but still terrible.
(P.S. Trains have pilots like this, too. If, for some reason, a train has to be put onto a section of track that the crew is not qualified on, a pilot will come on board to guide them through it.)
A bridge like that ought to have traffic lights on either side, I'd have thought. Not sure how people could've contacted traffic in time, though?
@@hengineer”iT’s ThE pIlOt, NoT tHe CaPtTaIn!”
@@johnmartinez7440this was 1980, not 2023. There were no smartphones or devices that provided on demand communications
Wow. Can you imagine sitting there in your car, trying to stop the traffic from proceeding, knowing they were headed to their death--and there's not a thing you can do about it.
Seeing the cars just go past was probably horrible enough, but I cannot imagine the horror when they saw a whole bus go by.
Right, apart from actually getting out of your car and putting some real effort into stopping the vehicles. He stayed in his car and waved out of his window. WTF? I know it is dog-eat-dog America but you'd think he'd give enough of a shit to get off his fat American ass and try and actually stop everyone driven off the bridge.
Afterwards, he said he could have saved everyone, but it was raining and he didn't feel like getting out and getting wet.
Yeah...... sitting there. I guess it's easy to judge sitting here, but he SAW the lights fall. he should have gotten out of his car and waived his arms. He could of saved many lives.
@@user-jx2mz3tx3j You do realize he had to back up first and was trying to alert them while still saving himself. He was trying to flag them down when he couldn’t reverse anymore since cars were driving up behind him. It happened very quickly and In most cases…people freeze in shock, he didn’t. Could you say the same for yourself in a life-or-death split second decision? Have some compassion and empathy that humans aren’t perfect but his actions did save some people. The ones that went into the water most likely didn’t see him or couldn’t stop like the video said. A bus still takes a while to come to a complete stop and we don’t know that the speed was
I lived on Anna Maria Island. The storm blew my front door open. Outside looking towards the Skyway Bridge I could see a huge portion of the bridge missing. The bridge/roadway was laying across the bow of the vessel draping over it's sides.
The vessel wasn't heading out to sea (as this author states), it was heading into Tampa Bay and is why it hit the West span. The traffic effected was on the South Bound span (west side span)
Right! It was coming INTO the bay, not leaving! And the southbound span was hit.
A lot of ‘what ifs’ take place when something like this occurs, naturally. I have one, on a different bridge, bus, and country. We were in Zambia, and my girlfriend and I were on a truck we hitched a ride with to get to a bus (like a greyhound) that had a stop in a tiny town, and we were going to take it to the city of Lusaka for a flight. The truck decided to make a stop, took its time, and ultimately we missed our bus. Got to Lusaka the next day and found out on the news that our bus had gone full speed off a ravine where the bridge had just been washed out. All people on the full bus died. What if our truck hadn’t made a stop, causing us to miss our bus? Well, for one, I wouldn’t be here telling this story.
Interesting information on the captain's life afterward. I've watched several documentaries on this and not one shared any of that info about the captain's life after the accident. Good for him to be a teacher of ship pilots!
Yes, it was interesting. I'm glad his life wasn't ruined by what happened, as it sounds as though he did the best he could, given the circumstances. He seems to have been an honest and decent man.
Brick Immortar did a good video on this as well with dispatch calls, the captains life after this, and a detailed map and explanation why it was hard for bigger ships to go under the bridge with a hard turn they'd have to do.
I had a friend who was attending UNM here, originally from Cape Cod; his father pilot's ships like that in Alaska. They also have their own sailing vessel, that was once employed to transport cocoa from the Caribbean to New York for this boutique chocolatier who was doing everything pre-industrial like.
yea his negligence killed many people.... great guy!
@@ceedub619cameraman3 you have zero clue what you are talking about. Ships are taken out through pilotage in worse conditions than that day. The NTSB official investigation found that a sudden unpredicted microburst is what led to this happening. Microbursts are random and kill many sailors. You know nothing landlubber.
It was morning fog, the kind that often made the top disappear for drivers. My husband was the first reporter onsite and found a wallet near the Yellow car stopped at the edge. I supplied structural steel for the replacement bridge tower elevators and cofferdams. The view from the top is amazing but the interior is mind blowing. Old engineers I worked with doubted the integrity of the new structure as it sits on expansion joint designed to last 25yrs but is replaced annually. That's scary too.
Unfortunately history repeated itself. The keybridge collapse in Baltimore has me watching all the bridge collapse videos and unfortunately modern ships are so large and heavy any bridge being struck by one doesn't stand a chance
Bridges aren't designed to take lateral strikes or damage. They are designed to distribute weight from loads top to bottom into the structure into the piles in the earth. Protective barriers around the piers/pilings are the only suitable protection.
My heart sank when I heard the account state that three cars and a bus went past him. What a horrid feeling.
Edit: My replies turned into a debate about whether or not he should have stopped side-on to the oncoming traffic to stop it.
Sucks to be them lol
People in a rush, probably judging the guy as a quack. I imagine them saying, “WTF is wrong with that idiot?” right up until the fall.
@@ddthompson42 Probably. People are on autopilot at that time in the morning. Initially I thought the guy could have done more to stop traffic going over the edge but thats easy for me to say and it would have been a very dangerous situation for him so I don't blame him.
Imagine you angrily swerve around some crazy dude whos stopped in the middle of the freeway waving his hands at people and then your last thoughts on this earth are "oh, thats probably what he meant."
@@chatteyj yeah and you don't know for sure if the rest of the bridge wont collapse
I remember this well. I'd been over the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge many, many times as a kid. I hated it. It doesn't look bad in photos, but in the backseat of a car it was like going straight up. After seeing on this the news, I got a bit of a fear going over large bridges. I have driven over the replacement, but I avoid it if at all possible, even though it's not too bad.
Plus the see-through grates... the old bridge gave me the willies
@@kbuley 2nd this. Used to freak me out as a kid.
I grew up near a relatively tame bridge over the Missouri river, but it was one of those narrow bridges with the see-thru deck that sounded terrible to drive on and was scary if you're afraid of heights. It left an impression to induce at least a little apprehension about all bridges. As I got older, that faded mostly away. The childhood bridge was replaced with a nice, wider concrete version. Years later I found myself driving over an earthen dam which happens to hold back the largest lake in the state. I was driving on the berm side, and there was about a foot off the cement at the edge of the roadway to a lackluster cable barrier, and a foot after that...nothing. Couldn't see the slop of the berm, couldn't really see anything, except the ground level far below. I was surprised when I more-or-less panicked. I could, maybe, manage 15 miles per hour (speed limit 60), but I did get across. I noted afterwards that, had I been going the other direction in the other lane, I probably would have been fine since the water surface was a lot closer to the roadway and the rip-rap looked good.
That metal grating seems so slick under the tires and emits an odd tone as you drive on it. Cool bridge but I shall now choose daytime driving if available.
It still freaks me out. I can't drive over the bridge my husband has to drive and I keep my eyes shut the whole way.
Interesting that I'm seeing this video pop up in the suggestions mere days after the Baltimore bridge accident and collapse.
And that they reported on the captain and his name. Something they are avoiding with Baltimore. Hmm, wonder why. (Hint, it seems he was Ukkkkranian and is currently being scrubbed from the net.
I was living in Tampa when this happened. I was 14 years old, and usually listened to the news with my parents in the mornings. Even at age 14 it was a catastrophe. I remember crying. For years you could see it there before they tore it down.
Captain really did the best they could, to be honest. He handled the whole situation like a professional. I feel like one of the biggest oversights of the situation was the lack of fortification on the pillars. If boats had crashed into them before, it was only a matter of time before a disastrous one was going to happen.
Like almost all Fascinating Horror disasters, there were clear warning signs leading up to the disaster that were ignored.
*Pilot
Not only had ships hit them, but being the pillars closest to the channel were the most likely to be hit. If not armored, at least fog lights or some kind of warning device to help mariners detect them in bad weather. Bridges and ships can be a bad combination and it seems like the designers downplayed the ships part.
Agreed on the lack of pillar fortifications being a huge oversight. It is not like the channel saw small kayaks and rowboats where an impact was more likely to damage the boat than the bridge itself. I have seen defenses range from telephone poles to deflect impacts, up to the huge rock bases on the new bridge.
Yeah, but it's Florida.
I've been on the new bridge 4 or 5 times. Freaks me out every single time. I was vaguely aware of the accident but through retelling I had a lot of the details wrong. I was told that a school bus drove off the bridge one morning during fog. Not that that the bridge had been partially destroyed and a greyhound carrying college students is what went over the edge.
grow a pair
My Mom was working in St Pete when this happened. Luckily she was off that day. I went across this bridge many times after I got my drivers license . We lived in Bradenton at the time. I'll never forget this horrible accident!!!!
I grew up in Brandenton too. I was always freaked out thinking about what would happen if the bridge broke while we drove over it
Bradenton was a great place to grow up!
@@GeorgymonF well- now you know. but, as a person who obviously thinks too much- that could be a bad thing...
@@jimichan7649 i disagree- their attitude toward cannabis and the resulting cannabis laws suck, so i'm glad hurricane agnes put a stop to our family moving there....
@@tommurphy4307 Well, apparently you never lived there, so how would you know? BTW, Hurricane Agnes didn't come anywhere near Bradenton!
My grandparents came over that same bridge that morning about 3 hours before the ship struck, such a crazy situation that morning. I’ve always been nervous going over the new span, especially in less than ideal weather.
Sheesh 😳
3 hours prior! That is wild. I'm glad they were not victims of this tragedy. 💙
@@mirandalynn19 Scary indeed! Just imagine going on it at night, with high winds, on a motorcycle! I didn't know what I was getting into!
They were very fortunate to be such early risers. The bridge was hit at 7:33 AM so they drove over it around 4:30 in the morning!
@edwardkeller-wt7qq Motorcycles are dangerous alone anyway. Can't imagine horror of driving your scenario. Please don't.
As someone who grew up fishing on the ruins of the skyway, there's always been stories about "people under the water" where both divers, boaters, and even fishermen on the old bridge claim to see the ghosts of the people who drowned. I personally have seen glimpses from the corner of eye of faces just barely out of sight under the waves on more than one occasion.
Tampa bay is still haunted by the bridge collapse, the current Skyway has failed inspection several times over the past few years and sadly the number of improvements to prevent jumpers have to be increased almost every year.
Grew up hearing stories about being able to see the greyhound bus drive by on foggy mornings too.
The stories are just stories btw. They're fun to think about and to spook your friends, but there's nothing real about them. The human eye has excellent sight right ahead, but absolutely horrible sight at the corners. Furthermore, the human brain does not understand chaos, and will constantly try to find recognizable patterns in everything it sees, effectively causing the brain to fool itself into thinking that it saw something move, when in reality it just couldn't properly process the information it got from the corners of the eyes, due to that information being of such shitty quality. It's like immediately dropping from an 8K resolution to 140 pixels and then trying to make sense of what you just saw. This is also why it seems like whatever you just saw, disappeared the moment you look directly at it, because it literally did disappear, since the heavy blur was replaced with sharp resolution in a split second, and immediately making sense of what was really just a mere guess before. But because the guess was something unpleasant and potentially threatening, it activates our instincts and causes us to think we've seen something that shouldn't be there, when in reality we just decided on a predefined shape, to make sense of our crappy, blurry corner vision.
The technical reason why our corner vision is worse than our center vision is pretty simple. There are fewer photoreceptive sensors that can be concentrated to a single point (sensors that are sensible to light waves) from the corners of our eyes, than there is from the center. To combat this physical weakness, our entire back and neck can rotate enough to let us turn our sharper vision all the way around and our bipedal ability also allows us to quickly move our feet towards whatever threat we may be facing. Deer have a much better peripheral vision than us, however they cannot rotate their bodies like we can. Owls cannot rotate their eyes, as their eyes are cylindrical. Instead they can rotate their neck almost 180 degrees and this allows them to focus their vision wherever they want it.
@@Arterexius Indeed. When I get out of bed during the night, I consciously avoid looking in mirrors or windows.
Not because I'm superstitious, but as a small kid I read a ghost story that was illustrated with a face staring out skylight into the little room.
Never could forget that and even though I have never seen a ghost, don't believe in them, I am more scared about what my own subconscious may project into my mind as I look into a dark mirror or window at night.
Heeeeeey, you have real INFERI 😍
@@AudieHolland makes sense, it absolutely can happen if you're already feeling creeped out. I work in a somewhat big powerplant and sometimes in the night, when I'm the only person in a certain building, with dim lights or only my flashlight, it seems like I'm seeing silhouettes from the corner of my eyes. There if ofc nothing there, it only happens when I'm already a bit creeped out and tired. Also some pipes sound like people hastily whispering, but only if you don't listen closely
My Dad drove us over that bridge when I was about 12 years old. I was terrified. We had just moved to Florida from Ohio and had never seen such a huge steep bridge. I hung onto the back of his seat and tried not to look. When I heard of the disaster years later I was just horrified! 😰😰😰
I normally like bridges, but that one terrifies me as well.....something about it is just eerie
@@followthebluebutterfly I've driven on the new bridge and it was very scary so high up, in a thunderstorm and windy. Even on a clear day its scary to me, maybe it's the height, or possibly haunted by that accident.
@@suzk1804 I don't mind the flat ones.... I can see ahead of me ...but the incline on that one mixed with the wind and rain was just very scary. it was three times as windy on the bridge as it was off the bridge... my car had poor wheel alignment and my hands are so sweaty I could barely grip the wheel..... if it wasn't for that steep as hell incline I bet more people could have seen the part of the bridge that was broken off even with the fog
Typical for a woman. No balls
What’s wild right now is this video was recommended to me last night and I added to my my watch later list, then this morning before I watched it, there was a similar incident in Baltimore.
Yeah. History repeats itself
I'm currently living in Vienna, Austria. My office is in the vecinity of the modern Reichsbrücke bridge. In 1976, the original bridge collapsed. It is a popular story in Vienna. It would be great if you could include your enthusiastic research and make a presentation. Thanks for your work.
I grew up on the coast of Florida and had nightmares about this growing up. It wasn't until recently that I found out that this wasn't a relatively common thing, just a rare accident that happened to be close to home.
It's worth noting that in Florida, especially near the coast, storms come and go so fast it's almost cartoonish. You'll literally have perfectly clear skies when you start eating lunch then suddenly it looks like nighttime because the storm clouds are so dense. Then suddenly it's clear again.
I've lived in Saint Petersburg my whole life, I currently work for the local State transportation department that oversees the Skyway bridge, and have had the (scary) privilege of being able to go to the top of the Skyway's northern tower. It's somewhat haunting how much that event kind of looms over everything we do here. Every office seems to have something relating to the old Skyway and what happened. And like others have said in their comments, portions of the old bridge still exist as fishing piers which I have gone out on many times with friends. Currently they are showing their age quite a bit and there is a project to keep them maintained but there are talks of removing them as some sections are under so much disrepair
thanks for sharing blackman
As a St. Petersburg resident myself, I think they should have taken the old bridge down decades ago. It's very upsetting when crossing the new bridge to look to the side and see them. I think they are very distracting, and really present a traffic hazard in that sense. You really need to keep your eyes on the road when crossing that bridge, but how can anyone not want to steal a good look at the old spans knowing the story. Unless you're someone who crosses it on a regular basis and sees them all the time. Tourists and drivers who have never seen them before are the ones who would be most distracted by the site, and they're the ones who most need to keep their eyes on the road. While the new bridge is supposedly safer, I find it absolutely terrifying to cross. I have only been across it twice, as a passenger in the front seat, and what I remember about it is that as you go over the apex, you can barely see the road in front of you, because it's so steep, reminded me of a roller coaster. I have literally had nightmares about it on several occasions. If the road in front of you was missing at that spot, I don't think you would see it until it was too late.
I went over the original so many times as a kid and I was always terrified to go over it as I have extreme phobia of water. I would get on the floor board and scream the entire way across it. This was in 1969 and I was very young. When this accident happened I felt my fear was justified. RIP to all those who died in this accident.
I drove over the old ones a few times when I was in college and it was extremely steep and scary.
I’m looking at this now ( 3/28/24), thinking how similar this is to the bridge accident in Baltimore, Maryland. The pictures of the bridge look almost the same.
And odd that this report includes the captain’s info. Something they are avoiding with Baltimore. Hmm, wonder why. (Hint, it seems he was Ukkkkranian and is currently being scrubbed from the net.
I have a fear of heights and a fear of deep water. I used to absolutely hate having to drive over the Skyway back in the day. It was almost a full blown panic situation every time.
Typical woman. No balls
It still is for me....I'd rather helicopter across the bay.
Impressive recounting of this tragic event. With relatives living in the Tampa area we often visited during the winter. As a very small child I was stuck in the middle of the back seat of my uncle's car. Even though I couldn't see out I was still terrified crossing that span. The long flat approach was enough to scare me. It also began my near paralyzing fear of heights and bridges. When I heard of the disaster I had to watch every news clip and read every report. I thought of it every time I crossed a major bridge. In the passing years, I've crossed the beautiful new bridge many times. I've been on the remains of the old bridge. I've stopped at the rest area on a day with weather much like the day it was struck. I've thought of those lives lost and their surviving families. And I am thankful for the safety improvements made after this horrific event.
We visited family in Tampa/St. Pete, too, in the mid to late 1960's. I was absolutely terrified of that bridge and spent the time crossing it huddled on the floor of the back passenger seat. What made it so frightening was that, as a car approached it, you could see that steep rise go up-up-up from quite a distance away. I'm with you on it starting fear of heights!
I am a truck driver. Some how I missed hearing about this bridge as a pre-teen. I started driving 18 wheelers in 96. After repeated crossings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Annapolis, MD I have developed a fear of crossing bridges and heights.
@@clasicradiolover During my career with DOT, spent time as a highway inspector including embankments at bridges, so I got a cursory look at the undersides of bridge decks. Some were pretty horrible, and were duly reported to the bridge "experts". 20 years later and most of the bridges might've had a band-aid repair but that's it. A fear of crossing bridges is justified.
We are from Scotland and went on a road trip through the keys in a camper van man oh man did that scare the shit out of me driving over they bridges.
I also have a fear of heights so much so that when approaching the Huey P Long bridge in New Orleans I’d begin to scream let me out. Since then it’s been reported that people drive off that bridge.
I grew up in St. Pete and the stories about this tragedy always haunted me, especially the bus that went over. I only found out recently that my mother was planning to drive southbound across the Skyway that morning, but decided not to given the weather report. Thank goodness she didn't go through with the trip. I was born just over 7 years later. It's eerie to cross the bridge to this day and think of those who lost their lives there. May their memories be a blessing and may they rest in peace.
I can't begin to imagine the terror and absolute helplessness that those ppl felt in the split seconds it took those vehicles to plunge into the water . The fear had to be mind numbing. RIP to all those who died .
what about the people who fell to the ship's deck in their vehicles and survived- why exclude them?
@@tommurphy4307 because you don't need to imagine what they went through. They survived to tell you. You thought you were being someone there didn't you?
I remember this. I lived in Florida at the time. The big sister of one of my classmates was on that bus. I remember that I was shocked, and how sad I felt for him. I couldn't imagine losing my big sister.
yes i have a sister and i can't afford to lose her 😢
@@mentalhospital1701 is that why you have her locked up?
One thing he didn’t mention, the approach roadways for the original bridge were converted into fishing piers, which are still in use and can be driven on today
“World’s longest pier” - feels that way when you drive < 5 mph on it.
I remember my grandparents telling me about it when I was very young as we were crossing along the north span.
Had just watched this video a couple months ago, and now here, on March 26th 2024 we have another bridge carrying another Interstate collapsing after being hit by a large container ship. Everyone is wondering why the Francis Scott Key Bridge didn't get the protective bumpers added after the lessons from the Sunshine incident.
Exactly what I'm wondering
I was to go to Bradenton that morning from Saint Petersburg , My boss said at 7 am to go down there over the Skyway , It was raining south of us. No big deal at the time. As I was getting in my truck , My boss came out and told me they got someone down there to do the job. Later that day ,we found out about the Bridge being hit . With the time of the collision and how long it would take for me to drive to the top of the Skyway , I would possibly been close to or on the bridge. This was a sad day for the Gulf Coast , I worked in the middle of Tampa Bay on a Dredge and I had been over the old Skyway a thousand times before the accident and never imagined a Ship could take it down.
The emergency call audio is incredible to listen to
Immediately taking control of situation and coordinating rescue efforts
Sadly, from that height, very little could be done in terms of rescuing those that were already in the water, aside from one man that did survive.
Amazing story , the captain did his best to tell all the emergency teams ASAP.
God rest those 30 people. video was done so well.
"God rest those 30 people..."
It was 35, but the other 5 were probably beyond redemption.
We used to drive over the “newer” bridge every summer when
I was a kid from our vacation spot in Treasure Island to my uncle’s house in Bradenton. My grandparents told me the story of the Sunshine Skyway disaster, and you could still see the remnants of the broken bridge on the side. This began my fear of bridges over water 😭
I was 9 years old, lived in Bradenton, FL. I remember it like yesterday. To this day I have a fear of driving over bridges because of this tragedy.
I'm so glad you finally covered this! I'm a Tampa Bay native and grew up with this story. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse is still remembered to this day, it's rare for Tampa Bay residents not to know about it. There are still some portions left of the original bridge that is now used as fishing docks. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is listed as one of the top ten largest/ longest bridges in the world. There are also a ton of suicide prevention measures along the bridge because it is the local favorite suicide spot. Also, the water below the bridge is the most shark infested area in all of Tampa Bay.
Wow, did not know about the sharks!
Makes sense of the shark infestation since it's a suicide spot. Hopefully that is no longer an issue.
I lived in Anna Maria and there was a restaurant on a pier there called Sharky's. Some friends of mine caught a really big hammerhead off the end of that pier.
I didn't realize Tb bay is this large!
are you a shark fisher? how else would you know that??
I was a 25-year-old w for who lived and worked in Tampa at that time. I had arrived at work in a downtown office. We had the radio playing and we couldn't believe the news alerts about a ship hitting the Skyway Bridge and a Greyhound bus and cars going into the water. That bridge was so scary to drive over. Even though the new bridge is an improvement, it's scary to go drive on because it's so high up. Bless the souls who died that day.
I was a little boy when my dad and I drove over this when it was freshly damaged- there was still one lane open and bumper to bumper traffic. It was absolutely terrifying going over it and I couldn't look out the window.
History repeats itself, key bridge in baltimore maryland was stuck and collapsed this morning
One thing I like about this channel is that it presents the stories in a format that's nice and short. Many other channels will spend at a minimum half an hour to explain the same things that this one does in ten minutes.
I was just a kid when this happened. That was crazy. A lot of people are terrified of the current Skyway Bridge. It can be kind of unnerving at the peak, especially if it's windy.
I just wrote the same on another comment. Most people don't like to drive over that bridge.
@@christaLia11 I've never been weary of the skyway, even knowing what happened... For some reason I just don't feel scared of it.
i loved driving over it..... had an orgasm even... okurrrr
I recall that morning in my senior high school year in Tampa. I was in school. It had been an unusually violent storm that morning. Someone came on the school radio system and announced that the skyway bridge had been partially collapsed due to collision by a ship and vehicles had driven off the missing span into the water far below. Scary memories even now.
St Petersburg is still a city on a peninsula yet now we have the skyway bridge that indeed does make traveling more convenient. I used to live in St Petersburg and I've been across the skyway bridge several times. If it's windy enough, the suspension cables cause the bridge to sway (which windy days are common here due to the tropical climate). There have also been accounts of spooky sightings of paranormal activity where the bridge starts (heading south bound from St Pete). Sadly, many people have taken their lives via jumping off the bridge. No one really knows if the spirit sightings are from the ship accident or from those who took their lives. Let's just say many people have avoided traveling across the sunshine skyway bridge because of these spooky tales. Yes, they do close the bridge down during inclement weather (fog is usually what causes most of the closures as well as tropical storms/hurricanes). I'm glad you covered this event because many people don't know about it, even most people who live in the area ☺️
I got a spooky feeling at the top of the bridge once. I slowed car down thought I saw something in road but nothing there. Clear day.
I go across it every week. Maybe just me, but there is nothing scary about it besides the price
Ever since I was young I’ve had a reoccurring nightmare about being a passenger in a car driving on a bridge and screaming that part of the road is gone before plummeting to the water and I wake up as the windshield makes impact every time it’s extremely vivid. Never knew about this tragedy until today and now I have a serious case of the heebie jeebies 😰 RIP to those poor people
I have the same dream except I wake up before the car goes into the water.
I used to have a dream about driving along a really tall bridge in the sky and suddenly it’s foggy and it feels like the car is floating 😮
kudos to the pilot admitting his mistakes and used it to teach other people to not repeat the same thing.
One thing wasn't made clear, why was he sent out there.
He wasn't experienced enuff....
I'll never forget that day.The weather was terrible. Rainy and windy and miserable. I hated that bridge because it was a grated metal steel roadway and when you went over it your car would shift left or right and you could see straight down.We had a family friend who was a diver that was tasked with getting the bodies out of the water. Funny enough i just went fishing last week off the old north span fishing pier.
Think the grating was bad in a car? Try it on a motorcycle. With a mild fear of heights. (Didn't know the center was grating; didn't do THAT again.) Car crossing didn't bother me, and in fact I went across northbound shortly after the collision. I commuted back and forth to USF-St. Pete.
I grew up within walking distance of the skyway bridge, it’s a local icon but since moving to a different state it has become obvious that this beautiful bridge is known to almost none it seems. It’s really cool seeing such a well done video about something I grew up with
I remember being a small child and driving over this span after the accident. Wondering why no cars were on the other bridge, then looking over and just seeing it no longer there. The old span was terrifying.
Thank you so much for doing my suggestion!! As a St.Pete resident, this case always hits close to my heart and the hearts of those who live here. Thank you for providing context I'd never heard before and telling it in such a respectful and educational way, as usual!
Seeing this in my reccomended reminded me of the time we were visiting our grandparents and we were travelling over the new bridge (I think??? I was young, but I know we were on a bridge). My late grandpa told us the story of how he was about 7-8 cars back from the collapsed section. Crazy to think I wouldn't have ever met him had traffic been just slightly different. Peace to all those who lost their lives and their families.
I worked on a cruise ship that was the second smallest in the fleet and we would go under this bridge. It was a tight fit! I have total respect for the pilots that guided us through there. We would all go up to the pool deck to watch. It was kinda trippy the first couple of times.
I was a senior in high school in Pinellas County in 1980, and this accident was a very big deal. We'd had a school trip and travelled by bus over it the week before. I love the detail about the survivor reflexively hitting the brakes even though they couldn't work.
Another disaster of more recent times that I'd not heard of, but then I was only about a year old at the time. But today (20th December) marks the 35th anniversary of the Dona Paz ferry disaster, the worst peacetime shipping tragedy of all time. Could a video be made to mark this anniversary? But keep up the good work done on this channel, and I hope you reach 1 million subscribers by the new year
I can remember my grandmother taking me over the bridge a year or so after it’d been hit…seeing the other span basically cut in half was frightening to my 6 year old eyes! And that was on top of the fact that the top of the span didn’t have a concrete surface, it was steel mesh that you could see down through to the water…totally terrifying! The “new” Skyway is so much better!
Anyone watching after the Baltimore bridge collapse? reminded me of this incident for obvious reasons.
I have only crossed it once. It was at the end of 1961 on a Christmas vacation with my parents and siblings. As a child I had never seen anything like it. The length and height in the middle impressed me so much that I never forgot it.
When I was a child my mother took me on that bridge and told me to look out the window as we were driving by the part that was hit. All of a sudden the road just disappeared and I thought the Whole road was gone! It terrified me as I thought we were going to die. To this day I have a problem with bridges.
that is cuz you are a woman.... no balls
All through the 70's, my father drove on the Sunshine Skyway, with me as a passenger, at least twice a month, usually on the weekends. The high central portion was always thrilling, if slightly terrifying. The incline seemed like a 40 degree angle, though I'm sure this was an illusion. It was tough to keep the car from reaching 100 mph going downhill, and it was at least a minute or two to complete travel over that section. The rest of the bridge was hardly different than any overpass, except that water was on both sides. We moved out of Florida months before the failure of the bridge.
I remember this disaster and I still have postcards of this bridge before the disaster. I've been across this bridge on the side wasn't destroyed, then across the new bridge several times.
Another respectfully and professionally presented production from the channel that sets the standard for this Genre.
Between yourself and Brick Immortar, the refusal to use shock and awe production styles, and to stick the facts, are rare accolades, and for me, your channel, along with BI, are the authorities on informative, factual, well researched educational pieces and for me have lead to several instances of self learning and home research for my own curiosity. I like to think I'm a little smarter for that, so thank you.
Excited for 1M subscribers! That shows us how clever you are at making these videos!
Wonder what the 1 million special episode will be.....?
I’ve been here since 150 followers
I'm from the town on the south end of the Skyway. It was heartbreaking. I don't remember it happening but my mom always said it sounded like a sonic boom and it shook the windows. She wondered if a space shuttle launched without being announced. I do remember crossing on the northbound side, which became 2 way traffic while the new one was built. It was terrifying. My Grandma hated bridges before that happened and made my grandpa drive around through Tampa when they went to the PX at Mcdill lol
I watched this a day or two before what just happened in Baltimore. Super sad and scary
I absolutely love your videos. The research that goes into them, the way you tell the stories, and the information you include are brilliant. I look forward to each and every one. Thank you!
I was born and raised in the St Pete/Sarasota area. This happened a few years before I was born but my mom remembers having driven over the skyway just an hour before this happened. She had stayed Wednesday night at a friends in St Pete and the two of them along with the girls family spent Thursday at Lowry Zoo. Early Friday morning, her friends mom was driving them back to my grandparents house in Bradenton so my mom could make it to school on time. She said they went over the skyway around 0630. I’m in my 30’s now and my mom still won’t drive the bridge either way. We have to get out at the rest areas on either side so I can drive across. She, and in turn me, wouldn’t be here if they were an hour later that day.
What a coincidence for this to pop up on my recommended page today
I remember so well when this happened. Such a tragic day. May all those who perished rest in peace. And for those who suffered emotional stress and PTSD because of these events, I wish you peace in your hearts.
I literally have regular nightmares about this exact scenario, yet this is the first time I've ever heard of this incident. While I'm sure it's not a huge secret or anything, I suspect it's not talked about more in history books because our infrastructure relies on so many giant bridges. It wouldn't be good for everyone to fear them more than they may already.
me too. I've had this dream several times. Being washed off the bridge and trapped. Never heard of this story before either.
And, honestly, a lot of major infrastructure has not had the maintenance it should have had. It's simply too expensive for the local bodies responsible to want to pay for and it's easy to ignore the risks. There are many bridges in America that are very dangerous and I'm sure a lot in my country (New Zealand) as well.
I was on my way to work in Tampa as the squall hit. We had to pull over numerous times because it raining so hard you couldn't see the hood ornament on a car. By the time we got to the job site in Carrolwood, we were getting the news reports about the tragedy and the sky turned blue with hardly a cloud. It's a day, I'll never forget. I'm surprised that they mentioned a shrimp boat hitting but not the Blackthorn/Capricorn collision January 28, 1980, killing 23 of the 50 Coast Guard crew.
He needs to do a story on that tragedy but needs to get his inbound and outbound correct.
Major respect to Mr. Lerro for taking responsibility, accountability, calling into the Coast Guard, and teaching others so as to prevent future incidents like this. I can't imagine how much it ate at him that 35 lives were lost; it wouldn't be surprising if he had never worked in anything related to maritime again.
RIP to those 35 people ❤
If u look up the Tasman Bridge & Lake Illawarra- you will find that a VERY similar accident had occurred in Tasmania, Australia, only 5 years prior to this - it’s a shame that the sunshine bridge engineers weren’t aware of this, as they could have learned some preventive measures to implement before lives were lost 😞