30, 2024 - April 5, 2024 The Afro-American A5 THE BLACKwww.afro.com MEDIA AUTHORITYMarch • AFRO.COM $2.00 $1.00
Volume 132 No. 35
MARCH 30 , 2024 - APRIL 5, 2024
Investigation into Key Bridge collapse continues
AP Photo
AFRO Photo / Edoghogho Joy Ugiagbe
Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Leaders throughout the state of Maryland and beyond are working to recover from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The bridge, built in 1977, was struck by a container ship and immediately collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early morning hours of March 26. Members of the Baltimore community are coming together as they grieve the loss of six construction workers, who are presumed dead. Shown here, Maryland Governor Wes Moore (left) shows support for Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott. By Aria Brent AFRO Staff Writer abrent@afro.com
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Marylanders are still reeling from the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which plummeted in the Patapsco River in the early morning hours of March 26 after being struck by a container ship. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) issued an alert shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Facebook and other social media platforms warning drivers to “avoid I-695 southeast corridor” as a portion of the I-695 Francis
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Scott Key Bridge suffered a “collapse due to ship strike.” Now, investigators of the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting an investigation into what exactly led to the collapse. “The 984.3-foot-long Singapore-flagged cargo
at this time. Initial damage estimates to the vessel and the bridge exceed $500,000.” According to the NTSB, “this accident was classified by the U.S. Coast Guard as a major marine casualty. NTSB will lead the investigation, and the Office of Marine
“Response efforts are ongoing. Our prayers remain with all those impacted.” vessel Dalireportedly lost power while transiting out of Baltimore Harbor and struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md., resulting in the bridge collapsing and damage to the vessel,” reported NTSB officials in a statement. “A portion of the collapsed bridge remains across the vessel’s bow, and the vessel remains in the vicinity of the bridge pier. No pollution has been reported
Safety will investigate and establish the probable cause.” Video evidence of the collapse immediately began to make the rounds on social media, showing a ship striking a pillar of the bridge, causing a major portion of it to fall into the Baltimore Harbor. Moments before the collapse, vehicles could be seen zipping across the bridge, and six unaccounted for construction workers are
Baltimore leaders consider economic impact of Key Bridge collapse By Megan Sayles AFRO Business Reporter msayles @afro.com As damage from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is assessed, leaders are now questioning the incident’s implications for Maryland’s economy. “Locally, and even internationally, people are getting a real-time lesson on the presumed to be dead. The incident immediately turned into an international news story, with pundits from around the country and beyond weighing in on the accident. Justin Brown, a civil engineer and construction inspector for the Missouri Department of Transportation, spoke with the AFRO about the collapse. Brown noted several
importance of the Baltimore Port,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC). “When we saw the accident, initially, we did not assume the port would be shut down indefinitely. Now, we are learning that it will have a longer impact on our economy. We just don’t know how dramatic that will be.” The Port of Baltimore contributes nearly
things that could make an infrastructure like the Key Bridge more vulnerable to destruction when hit by large ships including age, salt water erosion and the design of the bridge. “That bridge was built in 1977 and it’s a truss bridge. You have a lot of small spans and in the actual river channel or bay. The piers in those middle spans hold a lot more
Continued on A3 than the weight of the bridge itself so when the ship hit that pier, the entire pier collapsed,” Brown explained. “Now, that could have to do with issues like age, the bridge is almost 50 years old, which is the typical lifespan of a bridge like this. However, when you’re dealing with older bridges and saltwater– that can play a factor into its deterioration as well.”
As Mayor Brandon Scott handles bridge tragedy, racists blow dog whistle By Joseph Williams Word in Black America’s anti-DEI crusaders — or, more accurately, the nation’s shameless racists and unabashed White supremacists who want to say the N-word publicly but don’t have the guts — are at it again. Hours after the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster unfolded in his city, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott appeared with fire department and rescue squad commanders for a press conference. As
AP Photo
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott is working hard to handle the chaos caused by the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, even as racists use social media to question his authority and ability to lead the city.
rescue divers continued searching the frigid Patapsco River for possible survivors, Scott appeared shaken as he began his remarks, carried on live television nationwide. “This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Scott, only 39 years old and the youngest Black mayor in Baltimore history, told reporters. “We have to first and foremost pray for all of those who are impacted, those families, pray for our first responders and thank them. We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted. We have to try to find them safe.” Maybe it was the fact that Scott is a young Black man with a neatly trimmed beard Scan to subscribe to the e-edition Continued on A3
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