Aug 11, 2008 12:50 pm US/Eastern
Bay Crash Delays Morning Traffic
KENT ISLAND, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
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A tractor-trailer crashed Sunday on the eastbound Bay Bridge and plunged into the water, killing the driver.
CBS
The cab of the tractor trailer has been removed from the Chesapeake Bay. The necessary equipment is in place and a marine salvage company is working to recover the tractor trailer rig.
Mike Schuh reports it took about two hours to attatch the straps and remove the cab from the water.
Still, the lanes won't be completely open until Monday afternoon. There are two lanes open on the eastbound side of Route 50.
There is a temporary concrete jersey wall blocking the missing concrete as well as a regular guardrail that is bolted over some of the sections where the concrete is missing.
Early Sunday morning the tractor trailer plunged off the Bay Bridge, killing the driver and causing the massive traffic delays.
From
Sky Eye Chopper 13 you can see the tractor trailer that fell about 30 to 40 feet into shallow water about 4 a.m. Two other people were seriously injured in the three-vehicle accident, said Maryland Transportation Authority spokesman Jonathan Green.
The tractor trailer driver has been identified as 58-year-old John Robert Short of Willards.
Candy Baldwin, who was driving a Chevrolet Camaro, remains at University of Maryland Shock Trauma.
Trisha Carrigan, a passenger in the Camaro, was released from Shock Trauma.
The driver of the Toyota Prius Seung Won Hong wasn't injured nor the passenger in that vehicle, Ho Yoo.
The accident on the eastbound span closed that bridge and traffic was diverted to the westbound span, which had been closed for maintenance.
The transportation authority said the left lane of the eastbound span was reopened Sunday evening, while two-way traffic continues on the westbound span with one lane open for eastbound traffic and two for westbound traffic.
The 18-wheeler, which was upright with its top visible in about 10 feet of water, had been traveling eastbound when the accident occurred.
Mountaire Farms, a poultry processing company based in Selbyville, Del., owns the truck, said company spokesman Roger Marino.
"It is a tragic loss for the Mountaire family, because it is a close-knit company. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family," Marino said. "We will be assisting the authorities as we wait for more information."
Green said he did not know what caused the crash.
Kellie Boulware of the State Highway Administration advised drivers heading to the Eastern Shore to take other routes.
"It's a slow-moving process, people are getting through, but it's going to be a while," Boulware said.
Crews also worked Sunday to contain a spill from the truck's diesel fuel tank. A crane was at the scene to lift the tractor trailer from the water.
The scenic four-mile bridges, which peak at about 186 feet, are a major artery to the Delaware and Maryland beaches.
The eastbound span opened in 1952 and the parallel structure opened about 20 years later.
Vikram Virk of Ocean City, who was driving a U-Haul truck for a friend's move, was stuck in traffic at about noon near exit 24 for Rowe Boulevard. He told The (Baltimore) Sun he didn't know about the crash when he headed east to the bridge. "It's just a problem and a hassle," he said.
For the latest information on traffic conditions, call
1-877-BAYSPAN.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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