harrisonsdream
08-06-2007, 03:47 PM
Houston man tells of bridge's 'surreal' collapse
It began with a puff, then a bang, but 'lucky' family walked to safety
By ANNE MARIE KILDAY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The first sign that something wasn't right came when Dennis Winegar noticed a puff of dust last Wednesday as he drove across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn.
That was just before the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed, tossing vehicles and tons of wreckage 60 feet down into the water.
"I reacted by slamming on the brakes of my car, and then there was a loud bang," Winegar said Sunday night after returning to Houston. "Then there was a really loud bang and a sound like a train starting up — metal screeching on metal. I saw the cars in front of me dip down, and then we hit.
"Immediately, our car tipped into a vertical position and I was looking through the windshield at concrete in front of me. The whole time, there was this loud bang, bang, bang. I keep replaying this over and over in my head. It was pretty surreal."
The death toll stood at five on Sunday as workers prepared to begin efforts today to move wreckage and recover more victims from the water.
Winegar, with his wife, Jamie, and daughter Logan, 18, returned home from a medical check-up and family vacation late Sunday at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The Houston couple, rescued from the bridge by people whom Jamie Winegar described as "angels," were weary of giving media interviews and "ready for all of this to be over," Dennis Winegar said.
He agreed that he has twice cheated death.
Three years ago, he had a kidney transplant at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital. His wife was the donor.
Cheated death twice
As the bridge collapsed, Winegar said, his nephew, Jake Winegar, yelled: "It's an earthquake!" The youth had been through earthquakes while living in San Diego, Winegar explained.
"Then, the car came to a rest and I did a quick poll: Was everybody OK?"
He said his nephew called 911 and reported that the bridge had collapsed. The operator told him to repeat what he had said.
It was 6:04 p.m.
Winegar said he told everybody in the car — his wife, his daughter, his nephew and his brother's mother-in-law, Kelly Logan — to stay put.
"We decided to get out of the car, but my wife said we should wait for rescue people to show up," he said. "Then I saw some people from a car in front of us out on the bridge walking, but my car was up in the air. We were sitting on top of another car. Our back tires were sitting on the windshield of the car behind us."
He said he managed to climb down onto a concrete barrier and then help his daughter, his nephew and the youth's grandmother out.
A man who had climbed onto the bridge helped Jamie Winegar out.
The five stunned family members began walking, Winegar said.
"Where we were, the pavement was at about a 30-degree angle. We were getting off the east side of the bridge," he said. "By the time we got to the top, there was a Minneapolis fireman yelling at everybody to get off. So then, we walked down and walked underneath."
Getting medical attention
A man named Andy, who had helped them get off the bridge, offered them a ride, Winegar said.
"But there was another woman there who had been injured by her seat belt. I told him to drive her to the hospital."
A Wisconsin couple with a station wagon drove them toward the Red Cross building in downtown Minneapolis, he said, as police cars and other emergency vehicles screamed past them.
The family finally got out and started walking until a police officer stopped them and called for medical aid, Winegar said. Paramedics came and checked the family on the sidewalk, he said, "but the police were stopping everybody, including the news media, from going to the Red Cross building."
After the paramedics left, Winegar said, "The news media was all over us. The next thing I knew, a guy was asking us to be on the Today show."
A native of Minnesota, Winegar said he wanted to be near his three brothers and two sisters while undergoing his kidney transplant.
He is participating in a drug trial at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital, where the surgery was performed.
He said he goes back every year for tests to make sure his donated kidney is functioning properly.
"I feel fine," Winegar said. "We feel very lucky."
It began with a puff, then a bang, but 'lucky' family walked to safety
By ANNE MARIE KILDAY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The first sign that something wasn't right came when Dennis Winegar noticed a puff of dust last Wednesday as he drove across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn.
That was just before the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed, tossing vehicles and tons of wreckage 60 feet down into the water.
"I reacted by slamming on the brakes of my car, and then there was a loud bang," Winegar said Sunday night after returning to Houston. "Then there was a really loud bang and a sound like a train starting up — metal screeching on metal. I saw the cars in front of me dip down, and then we hit.
"Immediately, our car tipped into a vertical position and I was looking through the windshield at concrete in front of me. The whole time, there was this loud bang, bang, bang. I keep replaying this over and over in my head. It was pretty surreal."
The death toll stood at five on Sunday as workers prepared to begin efforts today to move wreckage and recover more victims from the water.
Winegar, with his wife, Jamie, and daughter Logan, 18, returned home from a medical check-up and family vacation late Sunday at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The Houston couple, rescued from the bridge by people whom Jamie Winegar described as "angels," were weary of giving media interviews and "ready for all of this to be over," Dennis Winegar said.
He agreed that he has twice cheated death.
Three years ago, he had a kidney transplant at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital. His wife was the donor.
Cheated death twice
As the bridge collapsed, Winegar said, his nephew, Jake Winegar, yelled: "It's an earthquake!" The youth had been through earthquakes while living in San Diego, Winegar explained.
"Then, the car came to a rest and I did a quick poll: Was everybody OK?"
He said his nephew called 911 and reported that the bridge had collapsed. The operator told him to repeat what he had said.
It was 6:04 p.m.
Winegar said he told everybody in the car — his wife, his daughter, his nephew and his brother's mother-in-law, Kelly Logan — to stay put.
"We decided to get out of the car, but my wife said we should wait for rescue people to show up," he said. "Then I saw some people from a car in front of us out on the bridge walking, but my car was up in the air. We were sitting on top of another car. Our back tires were sitting on the windshield of the car behind us."
He said he managed to climb down onto a concrete barrier and then help his daughter, his nephew and the youth's grandmother out.
A man who had climbed onto the bridge helped Jamie Winegar out.
The five stunned family members began walking, Winegar said.
"Where we were, the pavement was at about a 30-degree angle. We were getting off the east side of the bridge," he said. "By the time we got to the top, there was a Minneapolis fireman yelling at everybody to get off. So then, we walked down and walked underneath."
Getting medical attention
A man named Andy, who had helped them get off the bridge, offered them a ride, Winegar said.
"But there was another woman there who had been injured by her seat belt. I told him to drive her to the hospital."
A Wisconsin couple with a station wagon drove them toward the Red Cross building in downtown Minneapolis, he said, as police cars and other emergency vehicles screamed past them.
The family finally got out and started walking until a police officer stopped them and called for medical aid, Winegar said. Paramedics came and checked the family on the sidewalk, he said, "but the police were stopping everybody, including the news media, from going to the Red Cross building."
After the paramedics left, Winegar said, "The news media was all over us. The next thing I knew, a guy was asking us to be on the Today show."
A native of Minnesota, Winegar said he wanted to be near his three brothers and two sisters while undergoing his kidney transplant.
He is participating in a drug trial at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital, where the surgery was performed.
He said he goes back every year for tests to make sure his donated kidney is functioning properly.
"I feel fine," Winegar said. "We feel very lucky."