A new dispatch audio from Maryland Transportation Authority police reveals that officers had been pre-alerted to divert traffic one minute before the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed.
Dispatch audio obtained by DMV News Live reveals that MDTA authorities alerted nearby officers to divert traffic to the Francis Scott Key Bridge a minute before the bridge collapsed.
In the MDTA dispatch audio, an MDTA officer can be heard ordering officers: “I need one of you guys on the north side, one to the south side, and one of you guys on hold all traffic on the Key Bridge.”
“There’s a ship approaching that lost its steering. So until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic.” added the MDTA officer.
MDTA authorities were pre-alerted by the Dali cargo ship’s crew, who issued a mayday call moments before the ship struck the bridge.
AUDIO:
Here’s video with some of this afternoon’s on-scene footage from Dundalk, Maryland. Included as well is the police dispatch channel audio of the incident. (via @Broadcastify/ YouTube) @TheMDTA Police were ‘pre-alerted’ by ~1 min & managed to divert traffic within ~90 seconds. https://t.co/SBMrjWAeSa pic.twitter.com/26O8zUssvR
— DMV News Live (@DCNewsLive) March 26, 2024
Per The Daily Mail:
This is the harrowing audio of Baltimore officials as they rushed to stop traffic on the bridge seconds before it collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday morning, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, Maryland’s governor Wes Moore said. About 90 seconds after they mayday call, another is heard on the audio reporting the bridge has collapsed.
‘I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side, hold all traffic on the Key Bridge,’ one person is heard saying.
‘There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic.’
In a press conference, Governor Wes Moore praised the Dali cargo ship crew on board for issuing a mayday call, which gave officers time to stop traffic to the bridge.
WATCH:
The crew on the cargo ship that collided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge issued a “mayday” call before the collision, which allowed authorities to stop traffic from going on the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. pic.twitter.com/wwhDZt42pT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 26, 2024
