35W

So...umm...yeah. Not so good times in Minneapolis. My softball teammates, Deb, and I were scheduled to meet at a bar very close to the now-collapsed 35W bridge before heading to the Twins game. I must have arrived at the bar about three minutes before the bridge went down. Deb showed up less than 10 minutes after me and said she saw smoke. She thought it was dust from the construction, as the news hadn't spread yet. And we were maybe 1/4 mile from the bridge.

I'm sure Ben or Tim will soon tell their father's tale. He was driving across the bridge when it started to collapse. Their dad actually had to drive up the falling pavement. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw no more bridge in place. I have no idea how fast he was going, but it sounds like he was damn fortunate. I know their father pretty well and wasn't surprised when Tim said his dad said something like, "I'm fine. No scratches on the car." My guess would be that the incident sunk in a little more last night and through today.

Anyway, I'm happy he's safe. I'm sad about all the people who were not so lucky.

Update: Read Ben's post for more details.