How hero cops stopped Baltimore drivers seconds before ship smash: ‘The bridge is down!

From NY Post.com (Mar. 26, 2024):

Hero cops managed to block all traffic from Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge with just seconds to spare before a massive container ship slammed into it — then watched in horror as it crumbled into the frigid waters.

“Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge,” one emergency dispatcher told officers around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to police radio traffic.

“There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering.”

Two cops who happened to be nearby responded, and stationed themselves at either end of the 1.6-mile span — stopping cars from crossing while the 130,000-ton Dali cargo vessel barreled out of control toward the bridge after apparently losing power.

The cops noted that a pothole repair crew was still on the bridge, apparently on a meal break.

But before they could warn them, the Dali collided with a support beam in the middle of the Patapsco River — causing the entire bridge to collapse within seconds — and throwing eight workers into the water.

“The whole bridge just fell down. Start, start! Whoever, everybody! The whole bridge just collapsed,” one frantic cop radioed in.

“The bridge is down!” another officer shouted.

It took about 90 seconds for the bridge to collapse following the initial mayday call from the Dali crew, giving officers only moments to stop the traffic.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore praised the cops for their quick work in making sure no vehicles were traveling on the bridge when it fell.

“They undoubtedly saved numerous lives last night,” Moore said during a press briefing Tuesday.

A review by Maryland transportation officials also confirmed that there were no vehicles driving on the bridge at the time of the incident.

Two of the workers on the bridge were rescued, with one hospitalized and another refusing treatment.

One of the first responders at the scene told The Post the uninjured man, who has yet to be publicly named, was shaken up and just wanted to go home.

“He brushed his clothes off and wanted to see his family,” the first responder said. “He was shaken up a little bit but nothing major. I guess the good lord was on his side.”

Moore said Tuesday afternoon that the search and rescue operation was still underway for the six workers who were missing.

The MV Dali, a Singapore-flagged container ship, had apparently “lost propulsion” as it was leaving the Port of Baltimore after 1:00 a.m., at which time crew members warned officials of a possible collision, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency obtained by ABC News.

Officials in Singapore confirmed there were 22 Indian crew members and two local harbor pilots aboard the ship. All members of the crew were reported safe.

Officials said the Dali’s lights suddenly went out around 1:25 a.m., with video of the scene showing black smoke billowing from the ship’s chimney. [read more]

God bless those cops! They prevented many more deaths with their quick response. That's how you protect the public.  Nice job!

More on the tragedy:

Ship that obliterated Baltimore bridge was involved in a previous collision; managed by DEI-captive company