SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — It was shortly after 7 p.m. when Dan Sligh and his wife Sally were near the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River. The semi-truck ahead on the far right seemed too wide for the bridge span, and Sligh told his wife so.
“We started slowing down, and about that same time another semi-truck came up on the left side,” he told KIRO 7. “It almost looked like he pinned that truck over to where he couldn’t swerve.”
“He hit the bridge about 3 or 4 feet wider than the actual bridge was, and there was a big puff of dust. I hit the brakes, (but with) the weight of the trailer and everything else we went right off the bridge as it collapsed into the Skagit River.”
>>> Click here to see stunning photos of the Interstate 5 bridge collapse. Follow this link to see raw video from Chopper 7 above the Skagit River.
Rescuers raced to the scene about 60 miles north of Seattle, just past Mount Vernon and about 2 miles south of Burlington. The Skagit River was 46 degrees and roughly 18 feet deep where the bridge collapsed.
Gov. Jay Inslee, who came to the scene with Peterson and State Patrol Chief John Batiste, said Washingtonians need to be patient and expect major delays. See map of alternate route here