Pennsylvania woman, mom walk away from DC bridge collapse

ERIE, Pa. (WJET/WFXP) – A Pennsylvania woman and her mother managed to walk away after a pedestrian bridge collapsed over a busy highway in Washington D.C. Wednesday, crashing down on their Honda sedan.

“They were next to a tractor-trailer and apparently the tractor-trailer was too high for this pedestrian bridge,” said Michelle Leone’s husband, Scott Leone.

Michelle Leone was in the black sedan with her mother while helping her move to Florida when the frightening scene unfolded.

“They were in the position behind the truck, very close to the rear of the truck, when the bridge came down and struck their car also,” said Leone.

Leone’s mother-in-law was checked out at the hospital and released. She was one of five people who went to the hospital.

Officials said that, remarkably, there were no serious injuries in the collapse, which was likely caused by the semi.

“Those are preliminary findings, but everything we see at the accident scene leads to this being a collision pulling the bridge off its mooring,” said Chris Geltart, deputy D.C. mayor.

Looking at the scene, Scott Leone, who is a retired police officer, said it didn’t look like the victims should have been able to walk away.

Fortunately, that is exactly what happened. Leone’s wife and mother-in-law made preparations to get back on the road Thursday.

“They went and got a rental car and now they’re in a hotel room. They were hungry so they went out to eat first. They’re walking, not out driving, so I told them to look both ways before they cross the street,” Leone said.

He added that the next leg of that trip will begin at an impound lot while moving belongings out of the wrecked Honda.