1:27:04: The pilot orders the Dali to drop an anchor and issues steering commands. Cars and trucks continue to travel on the roadway.

1:27:05 a.m. to 1:29 a.m.: The pilot issues a mayday alert to the Coast Guard. Maryland Transportation Authority Police stop bridge traffic in both directions. A handful of vehicles cross the bridge as the Dali closes in on the bridge’s western steel support column.

“Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering,” a dispatcher says.

1:27:53 a.m.: An officer asks whether a construction crew is working on the bridge.

“Just make sure no one’s on the bridge right now. I’m not sure what — there’s a crew up there. You might want to notify whoever the foreman is, see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily,” a dispatcher responds.

1:28:25 a.m.: A half minute later, an officer says he’ll grab the construction workers when backup arrives.

But there’s no time.

Traveling at a speed of just under 7 knots or about 8 mph, the ship rams into the bridge. The voyage data recorder captures what sounds like the collision at 1:29 a.m. The NTSB said Wednesday night that more analysis was needed to determine the precise time of impact.

An inspector contracted by the Maryland Transportation Authority who was standing on a section of the bridge that did not immediately collapse runs to safety at the end of the bridge.

Less than a minute after impact, the bridge shudders and folds. Six people, three passenger vehicles, one piece of construction equipment and one unidentified vehicle are thrown into the chilly water below. The pilot radios the Coast Guard about the collapse.

...continued

©2024 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.