A man claims the concrete of a Detroit pedestrian bridge gave way under his feet on Monday, May 9, as he was crossing over the Lodge Freeway. Check out a photo of the hole left in the concrete below.
While Ely Hydes, 36, was walking along the bridge on his way to the Detroit Tigers game against Oakland Athletics, he said he plunged nearly 15 feet, landing near oncoming freeway traffic. According to Hydes (via the Detroit News), he was talking with a friend when, “in mid-sentence the bridge just collapsed under my feet.”
“I wasn't sure where I was, and as I was falling I remember thinking, ‘I hope I'm not over the freeway.’ I landed about 6 feet from the traffic,” Hydes, who is an attorney, added.
According to Hydes, he told two Detroit police officers what happened after a squad car showed up at the scene, but he isn't sure if they took a report or not.
Despite the large hole in the concrete, the bridge remained open as of about 8 p.m. on Sunday, after the Detroit News emailed the Michigan Department of Transportation about the incident. MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross claims state officials were not informed about the incident until receiving the email from the publication.
Since the incident, state officials have fast-tracked the inspection of the pedestrian bridge.