Overloaded truck hits Skagit River Bridge before collapse The Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge In Washington state collapsed on Thursday evening, May 23 resulting in several cars falling into the water. A truck carrying an oversize load struck a bridge on the major thoroughfare between Seattle and Canada, sending a section of the span and two vehicles into the Skagit River below. All three occupants suffered only minor injuries. It happened about 7pm Thursday on the four-lane Interstate 5 bridge near Mount Vernon, about 97 kilometres north of Seattle, and disrupted travel in both directions. "He looked in the mirrors and it just dropped out of sight," Cynthia Scott, the wife of truck driver William Scott, said Friday from the couple's home near Spruce Grove, Alberta, just west of Edmonton. I spoke to him seconds after it happened. He was just horrified. Picture: Twitter/Easterner Sports "He's a little bit bewildered," Ed Scherbinski, vice president of Mullen Trucking, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Initially, it wasn't clear if the bridge just gave way on its own. But at an overnight news conference, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste blamed it on a tractor-trailer carrying a tall load that hit an upper part of the span. "For reasons unknown at this point in time, the semi struck the overhead of the bridge causing the collapse," he said. A damaged truck sits in the water on a portion of the Interstate-5 bridge that collapsed into the Skagit river. Picture: Joe Nicholson The truck made it off the bridge and the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. The trucking company said it received a state permit to carry its oversized load across the bridge. Mr Scherbinski said the state Department of Transportation had approved of the company's plan to drive the equipment along I-5 to Vancouver, Washington. He also said the company hired a local escort to help navigate the route. The driver was well-experienced with handling oversized loads, he said. This is what we do for a living. We pride ourselves in doing things the proper way," Mr Scherbinski said. Mike Allende, a state DOT spokesman, confirmed the truck had its permit. "We're still trying to figure out why it hit the bridge," he said. It's ultimately up to the trucking company to figure out whether it can get through. It's their responsibility to make sure the load they have can travel on that route. Dave Chesson, a state DOT spokesman, said there were no signs leading up to the bridge warning about its clearance height. Two other vehicles went into the water about 15 metres below as the structure crumbled. Three people were rescued and were recovering Friday. Drivers were told to expect delays. Detours have been set up to try to ease the congestion. Mr Batiste urged drivers to avoid the area if possible, especially over the Memorial Day weekend. Traffic along the heavily travelled route could be affected for some time. The bridge is used by an average of 71,000 vehicles a day. "The I-5 corridor is totally disrupted," said Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who went to the scene Thursday night. "Thanks to the rescuers and a little bit of luck, we had three Skagitonians who made it out of the Skagit River alive," Inslee said. Dan Sligh and his wife were in their pickup on Interstate 5 heading to a camping trip when a bridge before them disappeared in a "big puff of dust." "I hit the brakes and we went off," Mr Sligh told reporters from a hospital, adding he "saw the water approaching ...you hold on as tight as you can." Mr Sligh, his wife and another man in a different vehicle were dumped into the chilly waters of the Skagit River. Mr Sligh and his wife were taken to Skagit Valley Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other man was reported in stable condition at United General Hospital in Sedro-Woolley, hospital CEO Greg Reed said. Mr Sligh said his shoulder was dislocated in the drop into the water, and he found himself "belly deep in water in the truck." He said he popped his shoulder back in and called out to his wife, who he described as being in shock initially as they waited for rescuers to arrive in boats. The bridge was inspected twice last year and repairs were made, Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson said. "It's an older bridge that needs a lot of work just like a good number of bridges around the state," she said. Transportation officials are working on plans for either a temporary or permanent replacement, she said. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigative team. Jeremiah Thomas, a volunteer firefighter, said he was driving nearby when he glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye and turned to look. "The bridge just went down, it crashed through the water," he said. It was really surreal. Mr Deyerin said the water depth was about 4.6 metres, and the vehicles half-visible in the water likely were resting on portions of the collapsed bridge. Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold. "It's not something you see every day," said Jimmy O'Connor, the owner of two local pizza restaurants who was driving on another bridge parallel to the one that collapsed. People were starting to crawl out of their cars. He said he and his girlfriend were about 365 metres away on the Burlington Bridge when they heard "just a loud bang." "Then we looked over and saw the bridge was down in the water," he said. He pulled over and saw three vehicles in the water, including the camping trailer that landed upside-down, he said. The bridge was not classified as structurally deficient, but a Federal Highway Administration database listed it as being "functionally obsolete" - a category meaning that the design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders and low clearance underneath. The bridge was built in in 1955 and had a sufficiency rating of 47 out of 100 at its November 2012 inspection, Transportation Department spokesman Noel Brady said Friday. Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state's bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington's 7840 bridges are considered structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The mishap was reminiscent of the August 2007 collapse of an I-35W bridge in Minneapolis that killed 13 people and injured another 145 when it buckled and fell into the Mississippi River during rush-hour. Mr Sligh was thankful. His wife was "doing OK" and that he had "lots of cuts," he said. You're kind of pinching yourself and realise you're lucky to be alive.