Bridge Section Drops Onto Car; Structure Deficient

State transportation officials had already labeled a Prince George’s County bridge as structurally deficient before chunks of concrete fell from the structure onto a car.

Road crews were repairing the I-495/95 bridge in Morningside over Suitland Road in Prince George’s County Wednesday, a day after the mishap.

“This is yet another reminder of why transportation funding in Maryland is so critically needed,” Ragina Cooper Averella, manager of Public and Government Affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a news release.

The bridge is one of 81 structurally deficient bridges in the state, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Its structurally deficient features included deck deterioration, according to a 2014 report by Maryland transportation officials.

State Highway Administration officials say the bridge was built in 1963, and is still safe to use.

The driver, Katherine Deane, was not hurt when the crumbling concrete crashed onto her car.

“It happened just like that. Like I was in the wrong place at the right time,” Deane told WUSA TV.

»Screenshot from WUSA TV of damage done to vehicle by bridge section.

READ ALSO:

• Veteran Threatens Wife, U.S. Capitol Workers: Police
• Prince George’s Mailman Honored for Saving Life