WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - After removing the final vehicle that was trapped under debris from the bridge collapse near Florida International University in West Miami-Dade, Saturday night, officials said the final death count in the tragedy stands at six.
Speaking with reporters just after 10 p.m., authorities confirmed all victims had been accounted for.
“We believe that we’ve recovered the final two individuals, the final two victims from underneath the bridge,” said Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez, “so that make sit a total of five people that were recovered from underneath the bridge. There was one individual that passed away at the hospital, for a total of six people, and I believe that is the final count.”
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was also on hand to discuss the investigation that the National Transportation Safety Board is conducting. “What they will release is a report that will give in great detail, engineering-level detail, about the decisions that were made on this project and pinpoint where was the mistake and/or the failure that led to this catastrophic and tragic event.” he said. “That is something that the community needs, the families need, the country needs to make sure it never happens again.”
Hours earlier, 7News cameras captured a tow truck as it took the third vehicle removed to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office. The truck was escorted by three Miami-Dade Police officers in motorcycles in what resembled a funeral procession.
In total, four vehicles were extracted on Saturday.
From a recovery mission to evidence collection, crews continued to work around the clock to give closure to the victims’ families.
“The only pause from the rescuers, was when we asked them to pause so we could pray over every victim and escort them out with our motorcycle unit to the ME’s office,” said Perez. “That was the only pause in work.”
One more phase of the #BridgeCollapse has ended. We now begin to recover evidence and clean up. Our investigative work with NTSB, OSHA, and @KathyFndzRundle will continue. #MDPD thanks our community, @MiamiDadeFire, and law enforcement partners. #OneCommunity https://t.co/e3t0Ku0ZLh
— Juan Perez (@JPerezMia) March 18, 2018
Saturday morning, Perez said, crews discovered three bodies inside the first two vehicles pulled from the debris. Investigators identified them as Oswald Gonzalez, Alberto Arias and Rolando Fraga Hernandez.
Gonzalez and Arias were found inside a white Chevy truck. Fraga Hernandez was found inside his Jeep Cherokee.
FIU student Alexa Duran was one of those six victims. Her friend and passenger, Richie Humble, survived the impact.
“I started to hear the bridge creak, so I looked up and I saw the bridge falling on top of us,” Humble said during a TV interview, “and it fell on the roof of the car and caved in, and it kind of caved in on my neck and squished me down.”
Richie called 911 after his escape, but it was too late for Duran. She was 18.
Duran’s father found out about her death while away in London. He told El Nuevo Herald, “My little girl was trapped in the car and couldn’t get out. She died when the bridge collapsed on top of her car. This is going to be the longest and saddest trip of my life. I don’t want to return.”
Her uncle, Joe Smitha, remains in disbelief. “We all were in shock, obviously, the whole family,” he said. “When I first got the phone call, I said, ‘What? What are the odds?'”
Another victim, 37-year-old Navarro Brown, was a bridge employee who was working when the concrete came crashing down.
Even before his body was recovered, Brandon Brownfield’s wife had told 7News she believes he was killed.
Miami-Dade Police chaplains were on hand at the scene of the collapse to help console the families and first responders.
“Their main job, as far as they’re concerned, is not finished until everybody’s out,” said Miami-Dade Police Chaplain Thomas Hanlon, “until every family has had the ability to know that their family members had been taken care of.”
Saturday evening, crews paused and stood for a moment of silence for each life lost.
The final vehicle was pulled from the rubble at around 9:30 p.m.
If you have any information on the bridge collapse that can help investigators, call police at 305-471-2421 or 305-471-2400. You can also email video to police at MDPDFVU@GMAIL.COM.
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