Gayle Fairman, an uber driver, credited a late passenger and the police for preventing her from being on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed Tuesday, WBALTV 11 reported Thursday.
Fairman received a call early Tuesday morning to pick up a passenger at an Amazon facilities in Sparrow Point and drive this person to Brooklyn, which would have meant crossing the bridge, the outlet noted. (RELATED: After Whiffing On Other Disasters, Buttigieg Rushes To Bridge Collapse)
Fairman arrived at the Amazon facilities but the passenger took a few minutes to get in the car, which turned out to be quite a fortuitous delay.
“I was approaching the bridge and got stopped by police right at the front of the line, and I had no idea what was transpiring. I rolled down my window and asked him what was going on, and he said the bridge was gone,” Fairman told WBALTV 11. “In all honesty, if my passenger wasn’t a little late coming out to my car and getting in, we probably very well would have been on the bridge when it collapsed.” (RELATED: Maryland Governor Says Officials Saved Lives By Making Last-Minute Move Before Ship Struck Bridge)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship in the early morning hours Tuesday. Several cars on the bridge fell into the river below, with Baltimore officials scrambling to rescue several individuals.
The container ship responsible for the collapse suffered from a “momentary loss of propulsion” that caused the ship to hit the bridge. The ship reportedly had a previous accident related to hardware problems. The federal government approved $60 million to “support mobilization, operations, and debris removal” from the accident.