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CNN Live Saturday
Interview With Steve Lusk
Aired May 24, 2003 - 18:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Back to that bridge collapse in Nebraska that shut down a stretch of Interstate 80, one of the nation's busiest highways. Authorities say crews are working around the clock to remove the fallen bridge and wrecked vehicles and reopen the roadway. We get the latest now from Steve Lusk of CNN affiliate KCNC.
And Steve, how much closer are the to reopening that portion of I-80?
STEVE LUSK, KCNC CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm told that its going to take some time for crews to remove the debris here. And also to remove what's remaining of this bridge.
Right now, they're working on taking out one of the semi-trucks that was eastbound, that has been caught underneath this collapsed bridge. There were a total of three eastbound trucks that were damaged last night in the accident around 9 o'clock.
Amazingly, no one was hurt there. They've just some cuts and bruises for those drivers. There was one fatality, though. The driver that was westbound at about 9 o'clock, for some reason lost control of the truck and hit the center support of this bridge, causing it buckle.
We're told by Nebraska State Patrol officials, a short time ago, that they called in special equipment from Kearney, Nebraska, that will cut through the remaining supports and bring the remainder of this bridge down. But we're also told, Fredricka, that this could take as long as two days to reopen both directions of I-80 near Big Springs, Nebraska.
WHITFIELD: And Steve, that's pretty significant, by getting a first shot now, clearly, of that bridge collapse. So, given that it will be at least a two-day delay before things will get somewhat close to normal, at least on the I-80 path, what about traffic that is being diverted and kind of detoured now? What does that mean for this holiday traffic in the area?
LUSK: Well, there have been significant back ups and delays for traffic. Especially, westbound on I-80. What's happening there is that traffic is being diverted at Big Springs. They have almost a 15 to 20 mile detour that they have to take to get around this accident site before they can head west on I-80. Also, for traffic coming out on I- 76 out of the Denver area, heading east, there is a delay there, too. Because I-76 is shut down at Jewelsberg, Colorado. They have to take a detour through Big Springs before they can east on I-80. So, significant delays.
WHITFIELD: Wow, significant indeed. So, Steve, no closer are investigators in trying to figure out why the driver lost control?
LUSK: Well, they can only speculate at this time. Perhaps the driver fell asleep at the wheel at that moment; perhaps the driver had a seizure. They really don't know at this point. They're still waiting for the autopsy results.
WHITFIELD: All right, Steve Lusk of KCNC, thank you very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 24, 2003 - 18:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Back to that bridge collapse in Nebraska that shut down a stretch of Interstate 80, one of the nation's busiest highways. Authorities say crews are working around the clock to remove the fallen bridge and wrecked vehicles and reopen the roadway. We get the latest now from Steve Lusk of CNN affiliate KCNC.
And Steve, how much closer are the to reopening that portion of I-80?
STEVE LUSK, KCNC CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm told that its going to take some time for crews to remove the debris here. And also to remove what's remaining of this bridge.
Right now, they're working on taking out one of the semi-trucks that was eastbound, that has been caught underneath this collapsed bridge. There were a total of three eastbound trucks that were damaged last night in the accident around 9 o'clock.
Amazingly, no one was hurt there. They've just some cuts and bruises for those drivers. There was one fatality, though. The driver that was westbound at about 9 o'clock, for some reason lost control of the truck and hit the center support of this bridge, causing it buckle.
We're told by Nebraska State Patrol officials, a short time ago, that they called in special equipment from Kearney, Nebraska, that will cut through the remaining supports and bring the remainder of this bridge down. But we're also told, Fredricka, that this could take as long as two days to reopen both directions of I-80 near Big Springs, Nebraska.
WHITFIELD: And Steve, that's pretty significant, by getting a first shot now, clearly, of that bridge collapse. So, given that it will be at least a two-day delay before things will get somewhat close to normal, at least on the I-80 path, what about traffic that is being diverted and kind of detoured now? What does that mean for this holiday traffic in the area?
LUSK: Well, there have been significant back ups and delays for traffic. Especially, westbound on I-80. What's happening there is that traffic is being diverted at Big Springs. They have almost a 15 to 20 mile detour that they have to take to get around this accident site before they can head west on I-80. Also, for traffic coming out on I- 76 out of the Denver area, heading east, there is a delay there, too. Because I-76 is shut down at Jewelsberg, Colorado. They have to take a detour through Big Springs before they can east on I-80. So, significant delays.
WHITFIELD: Wow, significant indeed. So, Steve, no closer are investigators in trying to figure out why the driver lost control?
LUSK: Well, they can only speculate at this time. Perhaps the driver fell asleep at the wheel at that moment; perhaps the driver had a seizure. They really don't know at this point. They're still waiting for the autopsy results.
WHITFIELD: All right, Steve Lusk of KCNC, thank you very much for that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
