![]() Jennifer Meador, a spokesperson for Magnolia, said that her company could not comment on the captain’s condition before the accident. The NTSB will neither confirm nor deny the story. The towboat’s captain told authorities he blacked out just before the collision, according to the NTSB, which is leading the investigation.Ī local newspaper, which sat in on a closed NTSB meeting on June 1, reported that Ken Suydam, the NTSB’s chief investigator, said that the towboat’s captain had a heart blockage. The two piers struck were 200 feet from the bridge pier marking the west side of the 300-foot-wide navigation channel. Four people were rescued by men fishing in the river below the bridge. As a result, 10 vehicles plunged off the 60-foot-high bridge into the river, killing 14. The towboat veered out of the navigation channel, and the two barges struck the second and third piers in the 1,988-foot-long bridge, causing a 580-foot-long section of the bridge to collapse, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. of Vicksburg, Miss., struck the bridge at 0748 on May 26 as it was traveling upstream at about 4 to 6 knots. Love, which is owned by Magnolia Marine Transport Co. The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states survey all bridges over waterways to assess the risk of collision with vessels, but the Federal Highway Administration did not adopt this recommendation. Others who were not with the captain said they heard no alarm or change in the sound of the engine that would indicate he was trying to avoid a crash, Black said.The collision renewed concerns about the protection of highway and railroad bridges from collisions with vessels. Joe Dedmon five to 10 minutes before the accident said everything seemed normal. George Black of the National Transportation Safety Board said a crewman who visited with Capt. Meanwhile, an investigator said towboat crew members' accounts support the towboat company's contention that the pilot had blacked out before the barge struck the bridge. Searchers at the bridge on Tuesday hoisted several more vehicles from the murky Arkansas River, bringing the death toll from the collapse to 13. They were a very loving couple and cared for each other deeply." She said state authorities notified the university of the bad news Tuesday. Haley-Seikel, who oversaw Susan Martin's work as an administrative assistant at the University of Oklahoma, said she was praying all day Sunday that Susan would call. ![]() He later investigated crimes against children.Ĭ. Martin, an experienced outdoorsman, had worked at the department since 1975 and was among Norman's first motorcycle patrol officers. Glenn Dobry, who worked with Wayne Martin at the Norman Police Department. "You're talking about a guy that was always in a bright mood, was happy, willing to help people out," said Lt. A colleague of Susan Martin said authorities confirmed the two had died. Martin and his wife, Susan, were traveling from Oklahoma to Arkansas for a family reunion over the weekend, but they never showed up. "She was a great person, very generous - she'd help anybody who needed it." "She went up there to help out a friend, and she stayed and helped her out up there all week," he said. He said Green of San Antonio had volunteered to haul horses to Fort Smith. Kelly Abbott, Green's son-in-law, said that she died on her 47th birthday. She started from scratch and worked her way up the ladder," said David Van Loh, a neighbor of Shanahan's in Stockdale, 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. "She was just a hardworking, sincere lady. She went on to become a Texas Youth Rodeo champion, won a college rodeo scholarship and built a thriving business training horses for barrel racing. Shanahan's gift with horses was evident when she began riding and training her first Shetland pony as a young girl. Their trailer was carrying four horses searchers have pulled three horses out of the river. Shanahan, 49, and another horse trainer, Maggie Green of San Antonio, Texas, were heading back to Texas after a competition in Fort Smith, Ark. An affable Oklahoma detective - an avid hunter, fisherman and diver - who helped track down criminals who prey on children.īoth were reportedly among at least 13 people killed when part of the Interstate 40 bridge fell into an Oklahoma river Sunday when it was struck by a barge.įew of the dead have been identified by authorities, but friends and acquaintances said Tuesday that the victims include Wayne and Susan Martin of Norman, Okla., and Army soldier Andrew Clements, 35.įriends of Gail Shanahan and Maggie Green said they are sure they died, too. A champion rodeo rider who embarked on her career as a young girl, parlaying her patience with horses into awards and a thriving business.
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