UPDATE - June 25, 2021:
According to a report from WUSA9, D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chris Geldart provided a statement saying the bridge "was inspected in February 2021 resulting in a May 25 inspection report giving the bridge a rating of poor condition (A number 4 rating)." This comes after D.C. officials said the bridge was structurally sound early on Wednesday after the incident, which officials have said was a misstatement.
UPDATE - June 24, 2021:
According to D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chris Geldart, the collapse appears to have been caused by a collision. Based on a preliminary investigation, a truck carrying diesel fuel may have collided with the bridge, causing it to separate from its mooring, Geldart said during a press briefing late yesterday. Thereafter, multiple cars were involved in the crash. After DC Fire and EMS made their evaluations, five persons from those vehicles were transported to local hospitals for treatment. No fatalities have been reported.
ORIGINAL POST:
The following appeared on CNN.com, June 23, 2021:
A pedestrian bridge collapsed onto Interstate 295 in Washington, DC midday Wednesday, injuring 6 people and blocking the highway in both directions, according to tweets from DC Fire and EMS.
The bridge collapsed at Kenilworth Avenue prior to Polk Street NE, the agency said in a tweet. Four people were transported to the hospital, but there were no reports of anyone trapped in the debris, the agency said.
Images posted by DC Fire and EMS and aerial footage from CNN affiliate WJLA show one side of the bridge fell onto I-295 southbound, while the part of the bridge on the northbound side remains mostly attached to an elevated platform.
CNN's full report can be found here.
Local news agency WUSA9 is reporting that I-295 traffic is currently being re-routed.
This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
