Twin-City Negligence Kills At Least 9 As Unsafe Bridge Collapses

That's right. Fair is fair. ANYONE who has ever seen this ramshackle monstrosity laughingly referred to as a bridge can only refer to its overdue collapse as pure negligence. But just like those who shoot up the world then call it an accident when an inanimate firearm "goes-off", officials should be looked at askance, askew, and awry as they attempt to weasel their way out of this one.

An eight-lane bridge connecting the Twin Cities of Minnesota collapsed with a deafening roar at the height of last night's rush hour - plunging cars into the Mississippi River and killing at least nine people.

Scores of others were injured as up to 50 cars slammed into the water. More than 60 people were rushed to Minneapolis-area hospitals, some in critical condition.

Witnesses said traffic was bumper-to-bumper when the 1,907-foot span cracked, buckled and plummeted 64 feet, splashing into the river.

...Surface construction on the 40-year-old bridge was going on at the time of the calamity, and some witnesses said they heard and felt the vibration of jackhammers seconds before disaster struck.

...While the cause of the collapse was not immediately clear, sources told local news station that stress fractures were found on the bridge about a year ago."