Police: 1 dead, 1 injured in highway overpass collapse

CINCINNATI -- A construction worker was killed and a tractor-trailer driver injured when an interstate overpass undergoing demolition collapsed in Cincinnati, fire and emergency medical officials said.

The Cincinnati Fire Department said the collapse onto southbound interstate 75 happened north of downtown at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

Police Chief Jeff Blackwell called it a workplace accident, saying crews were taking down the old bridge when something went "terribly wrong."

"The big-rig driver is very lucky; in a matter of seconds his fate would have probably been different," Blackwell said.

The driver was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with minor injuries.

Fire officials said the tractor-trailer struck the collapsed section as the bridge hit the ground. They said the construction worker was killed in the collapse. His name was not immediately released.

Blackwell said the city will work with the Department of Transportation to figure out what happened. He said several hundred tons of concrete had to be removed from the road.

The southbound lanes of I-75 would be closed for at least 48 hours, officials said.

CBS Cincinnati affiliate WKRC-TV reports the eastbound lanes of I-74 were also closed in the area.

The station says City Manager Harry Black told reporters the truck driver sustained "very, very minor lacerations."

When asked what may have led to the collapse, Black said, "You've got a lot of heavy equipment and a very, very heavy construction site. Who knows what happened, but we will find out."

America's network of bridges is under increasing scrutiny, notes WKRC's Adam Clements. One-in-nine bridges across the country has been rated "deficient" by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Of the 27,000 bridges in Ohio, more than one-in-five is in need of serious repair, replacement or fails to meet today's standards.