Students return to campus after bridge collapse
MIAMI — Students returning from spring break to Florida International University held a moment of silence Monday to honor the six people killed in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge that was supposed to be a campus showcase.
Some were angry that traffic had continued under the bridge while testing was performed on the 950-ton structure.
“They were stress-testing with cars passing under, people walking across. Why?” said marine biology sophomore Andy Distrubell.
He was on spring break when the bridge fell, but he said the experiences of the victims trapped beneath the bridge had been weighing on his mind. “The thought of just sitting in traffic, waiting on a red light, and all of a sudden a bridge falls on you is scary,” he said.
Florida International University President Mark Rosenberg joined students and staff to hold hands and bow their heads Monday for a moment of silence outdoors at 1:47 p.m. — the time that the bridge collapsed four days earlier. In a dining hall, some students stood up or put down their food and stopped talking to participate.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against the companies involved in the design and construction of the bridge. The case was filed on behalf of Marquise Rashaad Hepburn, who suffered spinal injuries while riding a bicycle under the bridge when it collapsed last week. The suit said a car swerved to avoid the falling concrete and struck Hepburn.
At a news conference in Orlando, one of Hepburn’s attorneys, Keith Mitnik, said Hepburn was on his way to work when the bridge fell.
The negligence lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from the entities involved in the bridge, including Munilla Construction Management and FIGG Bridge Engineers. Both companies say they would cooperate with multiple investigations into the collapse.
The lawsuit said cracks in the span should have been taken seriously and traffic should have been diverted during any testing.
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday directed Florida’s Department of Transportation to withhold payments of over $13.6 million in federal funding for the collapsed bridge until a National Transportation Safety Board investigation is finished.
“Before another dollar is spent on this bridge, we must know exactly what happened,” Scott said in a statement.
The moment of silence at FIU was the first in a series of memorials as classes resumed. In a statement, Rosenberg said a blood drive is scheduled Tuesday to support wounded victims who remain hospitalized.
The Student Government Association will hold a vigil Wednesday morning for Alexa Duran, an FIU student killed when the bridge collapsed on her car. Duran’s sorority will hold a memorial for her Thursday evening.