Aug 13, 2008 12:29 pm US/Eastern
Driver Fatigue May Be To Blame For Bridge Accident
Reporting
Adam May
KENT ISLAND, Md. (WJZ) ―
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A tragic accident on the Bay Bridge left a tractor trailer in the bay, the driver dead and traffic backed up for hours on end.
CBS
A tragic accident on the Bay Bridge leaves a tractor trailer in the bay, the driver dead and traffic backed up for hours on end. Now, another driver admits she caused the crash.
Adam May has more on her stunning admission.
On her Myspace page, 19-year-old Candy Baldwin from the Eastern Shore refers to her '97 Camaro as beautiful and powerful, but she doesn't remember what happened during the accident. She told the Washington Post she fell asleep on the Bay Bridge, then woke up to a tractor trailer over the edge, the driver dead.
Police are looking into the sleep issue.
"Driver error is a factor we want to look at, driver fatigue. We're talking about 4 a.m.," said Cpl. Jonathan Green with the Maryland Transportation Authority.
The Camaro was driving eastbound during two-way traffic when it crossed the center line. The truck driver swerved to get out of the way, jackknifed, hitting the Camaro and another car before crashing over the jersey wall and falling over the edge.
The accident raises questions about the jersey walls and why they didn't keep the truck on the road. It's now the subject of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation.
"We'll be looking at concrete barriers on the bridge," Green said.
Over the years, cracks have been repaired on some of those jersey walls but the concrete is still solid, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. They contend the bridge is safe but not perfect.
Derek Valcourt reports two-way traffic on one span of the bridge makes a lot of drivers nervous.
The jersey walls make some anxious. For others, it's the height. Kent Island Express runs on the fear some have of driving over the Bay Bridge. For a fee, Ken Comell and his staff will meet drivers on one side and drive them over to the other side.
"I do have people who can drive the westbound but not the eastbound. I have people who can drive eastbound, but not westbound," Comell said.
The fee to have someone drive you across the Bay Bridge is about $25.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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