Bull Butter
09-14-2006, 07:06 PM
Five year anniversary of bridge collapse today
South Padre Island to mark occasion with memorial service
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ
The Brownsville Herald
September 14, 2006 - It will be five years ago Friday that the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway collapsed leaving eight people dead and three others injured.
In remembrance of the victims and the survivors, a memorial service will be held Friday at the Padre Balli Crossover on South Padre Island.
South Padre Island Mayor Pro-tem Rick Ridolfi called for a special Town Hall meeting at 10 a.m. at the Padre Balli Crossover, but the meeting is actually the memorial service which is open to people who would like to attend.
“We just want to hold this in recognition of the loss of life and recognize how well we came together as a community” to help one another during the tragedy, Ridolfi said.
Killed in the accident were Robert “Bob” Harris, Hector Martinez, “Harpoon” Barry Welch and Chelsea Welch, all of Port Isabel; Julio Mireles of Los Fresnos; Robin Leavell of Mercedes; Stvan Francisco Rivas of Humble, Texas; and Gaspar S. Hinojosa of Kingsville.
Survivors of the collapse are Rene Mata of Port Isabel, Gustavo Morales of Brownsville and Bridgett Goza of Brownsville.
A 240-foot section of the causeway was knocked out Sept. 15, 2001, when a tugboat pushing four steel-laden barges lost control and steered the load into a concrete support column.
Six vehicles drove into the gap with only three people being pulled from the water alive. Eight others had died.
A May 2005, U.S. Coast Guard report into the collapse found that the tugboat’s captain failed to prepare for a turn toward the causeway, which caused the crash into the bridge. It also took issue with the tugboat’s horsepower.
A $9 million settlement was reached in June 2005 in a civil lawsuit in federal court claiming negligence by the tugboat company caused the collapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway.
Ridolfi said the survivors and the family members of the victims have been invited to attend the memorial service.
A wreath will be laid at the end of the memorial service. The city of Port Isabel is also expected to lay a wreath near the cause-way’s entrance in Port Isabel as well.
South Padre Island to mark occasion with memorial service
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ
The Brownsville Herald
September 14, 2006 - It will be five years ago Friday that the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway collapsed leaving eight people dead and three others injured.
In remembrance of the victims and the survivors, a memorial service will be held Friday at the Padre Balli Crossover on South Padre Island.
South Padre Island Mayor Pro-tem Rick Ridolfi called for a special Town Hall meeting at 10 a.m. at the Padre Balli Crossover, but the meeting is actually the memorial service which is open to people who would like to attend.
“We just want to hold this in recognition of the loss of life and recognize how well we came together as a community” to help one another during the tragedy, Ridolfi said.
Killed in the accident were Robert “Bob” Harris, Hector Martinez, “Harpoon” Barry Welch and Chelsea Welch, all of Port Isabel; Julio Mireles of Los Fresnos; Robin Leavell of Mercedes; Stvan Francisco Rivas of Humble, Texas; and Gaspar S. Hinojosa of Kingsville.
Survivors of the collapse are Rene Mata of Port Isabel, Gustavo Morales of Brownsville and Bridgett Goza of Brownsville.
A 240-foot section of the causeway was knocked out Sept. 15, 2001, when a tugboat pushing four steel-laden barges lost control and steered the load into a concrete support column.
Six vehicles drove into the gap with only three people being pulled from the water alive. Eight others had died.
A May 2005, U.S. Coast Guard report into the collapse found that the tugboat’s captain failed to prepare for a turn toward the causeway, which caused the crash into the bridge. It also took issue with the tugboat’s horsepower.
A $9 million settlement was reached in June 2005 in a civil lawsuit in federal court claiming negligence by the tugboat company caused the collapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway.
Ridolfi said the survivors and the family members of the victims have been invited to attend the memorial service.
A wreath will be laid at the end of the memorial service. The city of Port Isabel is also expected to lay a wreath near the cause-way’s entrance in Port Isabel as well.