A blinding squall, then death


Richard Hornbuckles’s Buick sits on the edge of the abyss after the accident.
[Photo – Times files]

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On the morning of May 9, 1980, a storm born in Texas several days earlier slammed into the Tampa Bay area, pelting it with heavy rains and winds. At 6:20 A.M. that morning, Harbor Pilot John Lerro climbed the pilot’s ladder in order to navigate the empty 606' long phosphate freighter, the 'Summit Venture', from the mouth of Tampa Bay to the port of Tampa. As the ship continued to head east in the channel not far from Egmont Key, visibility became near zero. The storm became so intense that Lerro lost his bearings by 800' and the result was that the bow of the ship struck the southbound span’s support pier at 7:33 A.M., resulting in a horrendous collapse of the main span. Six automobiles, one pick up truck, and one Greyhound bus bound for Miami plummeted almost 200' down at an estimated speed of 67 miles per hour into the waters of Tampa Bay. Only one person survived. The pick up truck landed first onto the ship itself, then into the Bay. The driver of the pick up truck was recovered from the water, hospitalized and later released. All in all 35 people died that morning. The Greyhound bus, a 1975 MC-B Crusader, had one driver and 25 passengers onboard. The bus was sheared by the impact so severely that the entire top 2/3rds of it was shorn off "like a pop top".

John Lerro, the harbor pilot who had been steering the ship, was later cleared of wrongdoing by both a state grand jury and a Coast Guard investigation. A microburst had suddenly hit the freighter with torrential rains and 70 MPH winds as it was in the middle of a turn in the shipping channel nearing the bridge, cutting visibility to near zero and temporarily rendering the ship’s radar useless. Lerro put the ship’s engines into full reverse and ordered the emergency dropping of the anchor as soon as he realized that the freighter was out of the channel, but the bow still hit two support piers. The south main pier withstood the ship strike without significant damage, but a secondary pier to the south was not designed to withstand such an impact and failed catastrophically.

A Ghost Bus rides the Skyway

Several years later as the remaining southbound span was relegated as a fishing pier, Juan Suarez and Jose Cabrerra were fishing before dawn one foggy fall morning when Cabrerra heard what sounded like heavy truck tires on the pavement. This was followed by the sound of the downshifting of an engine. Cabrerra and Suarez turned to look. That’s when they saw the Greyhound bus going past them on the roadway towards the old destroyed southbound span. “I could see the driver’s face. His eyes stared dead ahead horrified! His hands had a death grip on the big steering wheel! I could see the passenger’s faces through the windows as the bus flew past. Blank stares, all of them except that one woman in the back, she was looking at us! My God, she had a big smile on her face and she was waving! Waving at us and smiling!” said Cabrerra. He continued, “Then it was gone and you could feel the draft of cold air, blow past. Juan and I cranked in our lines and got the hell out of there!”


Richard Hornbuckles’s Buick rests, where it skidded to a stop, just 14 inches from the edge of the abyss after the accident.

The day before the accident

Jim Bowman - My cousin did that guys brakes the day before! True story!!! He went back a week later and gave him a hug! A famous photograph from the disaster shows a yellow Buick driven by Richard Hornbuckle of St. Petersburg stopped 14 inches short of the Sunshine Skyway bridge’s edge. Hornbuckle and his three passengers escaped. The old man that was driving that car in the picture went back to his car trunk to get his golf clubs out. Only one person who went over the edge survived – Wesley MacIntire, the driver of the pickup. He died in 1989.


The Summit Venture after ramming the Skyway
[Times photo by Dick Bell]

At 7:33 a.m. May 9, 1980, during a blinding spring squall, the freighter Summit Venture rammed into the Sunshine Skyway and knocked out a 1,200-foot length
of the bridge across the mouth of Tampa Bay.
Thirty five people, most of them in a Greyhound Bus, plunged 150 feet to their deaths.


The collapsed bridge dwarfs a small boat
[Times photo by Jackie Greene]

The accident, one of the worst bridge disasters in U.S. history, forever raised a nation’s consciousness about protecting bridges from wayward ships. Supports for the new Sunshine Skyway, which opened in 1987, have a state-of-the-art design (large concrete barriers, called "dolphins") that is supposed to keep such a tragedy from happening again.


Another view of the collapsed bridge


The following info is from greatest-unsolved-mysteries.com:

The Haunted Sunshine Skyway Bridge


The Sunshine Skyway bridge.

Some of the most famous highway ghost stories stem from fatal accidents on the road.

The Sunshine Skyway bridge that crosses the Tampa Bay region is considered by ghost investigators, locals, and travelers alike to be haunted. The official name for this immense structure is the "Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway bridge". The length of the bridge covers an amazing five point five miles, or twenty nine thousand forty feet. While the waters that the bridge passes over are considered to be part of Hillsborough County, the bridge actually connects St. Petersburg, which is located in Pinellas County and a city that is part of Manatee County called Terra Ceia. The bridge that currently stands was officially dedicated on the 7th day of February in the year of 1987. In this article on haunted routes, you will learn many interesting facts pertaining to this haunted bridge.

The Earliest Bridge

The bridge that currently stands today is completely different from the first bridge that stood which was identified by the same name as the current one. The first mode of transportation prior to the construction of the original bridge was a ferry. This water vessel maneuvered individuals from the location of Point Pinellas to the area known as Piney Point. Individuals in the area saw the need for a more efficient means of transportation, and by the year of 1954 they got it. This was when the original Sunshine Skyway bridge’s construction was completed. By the late 1960s, the interstate standards changed substantially and the need for another bridge developed. In 1969, a second bridge was constructed that ran parallel to the first so that the lane count was four. Many believe that the first bridge was cursed as it experienced many tragedies.


The original Sunshine Skyway bridge’s construction in 1954

The Story of the USCGC 'Blackthorn'

When it comes to haunted routes, haunted bridges almost always carry some sort of story associated with an accident that occurred in the water directly under or near the bridge. The same holds true for the haunted Sunshine Skyway bridge over Tampa Bay. The first tragedy associated with this bridge occurred on the 28th day of January in the year of 1980. The USCGC Blackthorn was setting out from the Tampa Bay region. At the same time, there was a water vessel typically identified as a "tanker" that was approaching Tampa Bay. This water vessel was named 'Capricorn'. As the Blackthorn approached the bridge, it came in contact with a cruise ship that was considered to be very brightly lit.

In an effort to avoid the cruiser to protect the passengers onboard, the Blackthorn moved to the center of the region so that it could pass. Unfortunately, it was unable to properly identify the Capricorn that was approaching due to the blinding lights and the fact that it was still dark outside. As a result, the ships collided. The ships did not stop at the bridge, the wreckage continued nearly one mile out from the bridge. This tragedy resulted in the deaths of an estimated twenty three crew members between both water vessels. While the fact that this tragedy does seem to have had an impact on the community and the bridge itself, there have been no particular stories pertaining to hauntings that could be the souls of those involved, but if you are riding along the haunted route at night, you may catch a glimpse of the residual remnants of the tragic boating incidence or one of the crew members looking for land….

The Most Devastating Disaster of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge

The most devastating disaster that occurred with the Sunshine Skyway bridge in Florida occurred on the 9th day of May in the year of 1980. There was a freighter named the 'MV Summit Venture' that collided into a special support column pier during the time of a torrential storm to the area. As a result of this collision, an amazing twelve hundred feet of the bridge crashed down into the waters of Tampa Bay. When this happened, a total of six vehicles fell one hundred fifty feet down directly into the Bay. In addition to this, a Greyhound bus also plummeted into the rough waters. Only one man, who would carry the burden the rest of his life, survived the fall. His name was Wesley MacIntire. Today, the remaining spans of the original bridge serve as the "Skyway Fishing Pier Park". A new bridge, which still stands today, was constructed for motorists interested in traveling over Tampa Bay.

The Suicides of the Skyway Bridge

In addition to the accidents that have occurred on the Sunshine Skyway bridge , several individuals have committed suicide by jumping from the highest span of the bridge. Since the year that the new bridge opened, well over one hundred people have killed themselves at this location. In addition to this, many other people have attempted suicide at this location but have either been injured instead, stopped from doing it, or simply changed their minds. The amount of individuals that have either tried suicide, been suspected of committing suicide due to never being found, or have successfully killed themselves has resulted in numerous "Crisis" telephones being placed along the structure.

The Hauntings of the Bridge

As a result of the accidents and the suicides that have occurred at the "Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway bridge", there seem to be a large number of ghosts that still have a connection to the roadway that crosses Tampa Bay. One of the most popular stories involves a young woman who was often seen at the top of the bridge, displaying all the characteristics associated with a suicide jumper. Several people have reported this female to authorities and local law enforcement agencies have reported this continuously throughout the years. Despite numerous witness accounts, no female was ever found. This story eventually became known as the story of a female that did, in fact, jump off the bridge. As time progressed, toll booth workers and motorists would see this lady hitchhiking. Many motorists picked her up and expressed the fact that she become extremely nervous in the car, wanting to get to the other side. Eventually, the female would simply vanish from the vehicle she was in.

The next haunted tale involves what is believed to be the Greyhound Bus that crashed into Tampa Bay in the year of 1980. Today, it is referred to as the "Ghost Bus". It has been said that twenty six people died on the bus the day that the bridge collapsed into the water as a result of the freighter wreck. Many witnesses claim that while visiting the fishing pier – which was the original bridge – that they see a ghostly image of the bus traveling near them. Many claim feeling an actual breeze and even catching a whiff of the gasoline that is often near a moving Greyhound. Is the Sunshine Skyway bridge in Florida haunted? According to the locals, it is one of the most haunted bridges in the Sunshine State. For us, this remains to be one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the popular peninsula.


The Skyway is quite the landmark and can be seen from afar


The following info is from the Tampa Bay Times, published on September 6, 2019:

News / Florida

The first Skyway bridge opened 66 years ago. It was a triumph. Then came the tragedy.

It was one of the longest bridges in the world. It was almost named the Magic Carpet. Here’s what else you didn’t know about Tampa Bay’s iconic bridge.


The Sunshine Skyway under construction. | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

By Gabrielle Calise

published September 6, 2019.
updated May 6, 2020

The original Sunshine Skyway bridge opened to the public 66 years ago today, linking the fragmented Tampa Bay region together and transforming the west coast of Florida.

The $22-million Skyway stretched from St. Pete’s Maximo Point at the end of 34th Street S to Terra Ceia Island to U.S. 41 in Manatee County. At the time, it was the longest unbroken bridge in the U.S. and one of the longest in the world.


A dedication motorcade as it crosses the main span of the Sunshine Skyway bridge after officially opening the world’s longest prestressed concrete bridge in 1954.
[Associated Press]

The then-St. Petersburg Times celebrated by printing a thick special section that weighed five pounds and contained about 330 articles and 460 pictures. The Sept. 6, 1954 front page story called it “the day they pulled the cork on Pinellas County’s bottleneck of a quarter century”.


Front page of the St. Petersburg Times on September 6, 1954. | [St. Petersburg Times]

The original Sunshine Skyway

Before the Skyway, St. Petersburg was an isolated, sleepy fishing town. To access it from the south, travelers could take the Bee Line Ferry, though only one to two thousand cars could reportedly make it across each day. The only way to drive to St. Petersburg from the south was to take U.S. 41 north from Manatee to Hillsborough, then drive across the Gandy bridge.

For three decades, people kicked around the dream of using a tunnel or bridge to cross the bay. And for three decades, many said it couldn’t be done.

When the original Skyway was built, it had one span and two lanes. In 1971, traffic prompted construction of a second span carrying southbound motorists west of the original span.


Aerial view of progress on Sunshine Skyway’s twin bridge, looking south.
[St. Petersburg Times – Bernie Oram]

“The Skyway wasn’t just a way to make things easier for locals. It opened up the Pinellas and Manatee beaches to travelers,” said historian Bill DeYoung, author of 'Skyway: The True Story of Tampa Bay’s Signature Bridge and the Man Who Brought it Down'.


Snapped just before their convertible joined others in the procession across Sunshine Skyway shortly after opening ceremonies yesterday were two attractive wives of prominent Floridians. On the left is Mrs. Courtney Campbell, wife of the U. S. Representative. With her is Mrs. Spessard Holland, wife of the U.S. Senator.
[St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

Naming the Skyway

The St. Pete Junior Chamber of Commerce and what was then-called the State Road Department held a nationwide naming contest. In just a month, more than 20,000 entries flooded in from every state ? and even Canada. A panel of local judges sifted through each submission.

Entries weren’t allowed to reference geographic regions or names of people. Notable rejects included the Magic Carpet, Loveland Span, Pearly Gates, the Glory Road, Alladin’s Ramp and the Garden of Eden.

Eleven of the top 20 finalists included the prefix "sun". The runner up: Suncoast Skyline.

The winning name came from Indian Rocks Beach resident Virginia Seymour, the owner of Gulf Ranch Resort. Three days before the bridge opened, Seymour was given a plaque, an engraved watch and a painting of the bridge at the Coliseum’s Sunshine Skyway Dedication Ball held on Sept. 3, 1954.


J.C. and Virginia Seymour at the Dedication Ball Sept. 3, 1954 at the St. Petersburg Coliseum. | [Tampa Bay Times]

The day the Skyway opened


The Sunshine Skyway was celebrated the weekend before the grand opening.
[Times files]

A grand opening ceremony christening the Sunshine Skyway bridge took place early in St. Petersburg on the morning of Sept. 6, 1954. Ice cream and soda vendors lined the streets and dignitaries and politicians gathered to speak. Ten "bridge beauties", representing 10 counties along Florida’s west coast, took a turn adding oversized counties into a massive Florida map.


Acting Governor Charley Johns characterized the new bridge as “a mighty and majestic monument to the cooperative spirit of man,” as he officially opened the Sunshine Skyway bridge to the public in St. Petersburg ceremonies.
[St. Petersburg Times – Unknown]

Then, the motorcade started: At 9:25 a.m., 500 cars lined up to drive from the Pinellas side of the bridge and paraded across the Skyway for the first time. A dozen planes and two helicopters flew over the triumphant inaugural drive.

When the motorcade made it to Bradenton on the other side, they held the opening ceremony all over again.


Helicopter flies over the main span of the Sunshine Skyway on opening day. Picture shows how the bridge zooms up from the approach level to 150.5 feet above water as it crosses the Tampa Bay ship channel. | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

“It was a wonderful, thrilling experience,” wrote Times reporter Tom Harris. “The kind of a thing that happens only once in a lifetime, and was well worth the effort of rolling out of bed at 8.a.m.”


M.C. Fountain, local printing shop operator, was the only person of color holding a 1949 Spans celebration button which entitled him to cross the Sunshine Skyway in the special section reserved for the holders. | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

After the motorcade, the bridge was opened to the public. Tolls were suspended from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on that first day.


Harold K. Moser, 4942 6th Ave. S., St. Pete, gives $1.75 to Mrs. Rosemary Cason,
Sunshine Skyway toll-taker, to be the first person crossing the big bridge after
the 11 o’clock free-admission deadline last night. | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

Toll operators counted 15,086 cars on that first day. More than 50,000 people were estimated to have journeyed across the bridge that day, whether they rode in buses and trucks or biked and walked across.


Two lines of cars cross over the Sunshine Skyway in the opening ceremonies
on Labor Day (9/6/54). | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

“People who never before had been to Palmetto, Bradenton, Sarasota or St. Petersburg got acquainted with these cities yesterday for the first time and good neighborliness reigned,” wrote Harris.


Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Leverock came from Erie, Pa.
[St. Petersburg Times – Johnny Evans]

Hundreds of boats gathered around the bridge to celebrate in the blue waters of the bay. The Aquamaniacs Ski Club performed a water ballet. There was a dance at the Bradenton Municipal Pier and the Miss Sunshine Skyway pageant was held at Anna Maria Island.

Even the Bee Line Ferry got a special sendoff as it made its final run that night.


Rica Diallina, Miss Greece, hands a replica of the Sunshine Skyway to Acting Gov. Charley Johns at the bridge opening ceremonies on the St. Pete side. Johns placed
the bridge in the center of the map of Florida’s West Coast (in rear) linking the
10 counties together. The counties - Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough,
Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier - were represented
by Skyway princesses, each wearing a bright red bathing suit.
[St. Petersburg Times – George Trabant]

It wasn’t all fun, though. Tampa’s David Carpenter had the unfortunate honor of being the first to get a flat tire on the Skyway, and Tampa bridge worker Richard F. Spivey was involved in the first accident. Those misfortunes came after a long wait to get on the bridge.

North of the Skyway, traffic stopped completely as thousands sat in their cars on 34th Street and Tangerine and Lakeview Avenues, waiting for their turn to take the historic drive. Cars backed up in Manatee County as well.

In the Times, Lowell Brandle wrote in a column that it was “the biggest traffic jam in the history of Pinellas and Manatee counties”.


At a top rate of more than 1,300 cars per hour, traffic crossed the world’s longest pre stressed concrete bridge, spanning Tampa bay to link Florida’s west coast together. Travel was free until 11 p.m. | [St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

The Skyway by the numbers


It was July 1954, two months before the original Sunshine  Skyway opened and Rube Allyn could smell a good story.  With photographer Bob Moreland right behind him snapping pictures, they became the first to cross the 15 mile bridge from end to end.
[St. Petersburg Times – Unknown]

• 4,100,000 cubic yards of sand were dredged to form the causeways. This would have been enough to cover half of Pass-a-Grille.
• 12,104,000 pounds of structural steel and 8,536,700 pounds of reinforcing steel were used to build the Skyway, as well as 115,980 cubic yards of concrete.
• $21,250,000 were supplied from a revenue bond issue from the State Improvement commission.
• 544 people worked on the bridge.
• 11 of the Skyway’s 15 miles were suspended over water.
• 5 bridges linked together six sections.
• 2 lanes were on the original single span bridge. There was no passing.
• 45 mph was the maximum speed limit. The minimum speed was 35 mph.
• 3 counties bridged: The Skyway crossed through Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
• $1.75 was the original toll for a single passenger car making a one-way trip. Pedestrians and bicyclists paid a 50-cent toll.


A lone candle adorns the first anniversary cake for the Sunshine Skyway. Here, Burr Baird, baker at Nagel’s Bakery, puts on finishing touches. More than a million
people crossed the Skyway since its opening a year prior.
[St. Petersburg Times – Bob Moreland]

A terrifying drive


The Skyway crossing begins and the motorcade pauses half way up the main span to give dignitaries a chance to look back over the Sunshine Skyway, open to traffic.
[St. Petersburg Times – Staff]

Tom Harris wrote that the ride was thrilling, especially ascending the rise up to the 150.5-foot high center span.

“This is more delightful for Floridians than anyone else because Florida has few respectable hills in its whole area,” he wrote. “To drive a car above sea level was something natives, unless they live near Brooksville or Tallahassee, said they had never experienced before.”

The 5-degree incline conjured a feeling of going up a roller coaster, said historian Bill DeYoung.

“You’d go up so slow up the side with this feeling of dread knowing you would go really fast down the other side,” he said. “You couldn’t see anything — it was so steep.”

Drivers would white-knuckle up to the highest point, where the road turned to metal grating. Then came the low rumble of tires thumping over the bumps. During the day, passengers could look down though the grate at churning waves splashing below.

At night came complete darkness. There were no lights on the original bridge.

“That sense of, ‘I’m really out here, I’m hurtling though the universe all alone and I’m 150 feet over the water’,” said DeYoung. “Yeah, it was a little terrifying.”

The original Skyway’s flaws were exposed to a devastating effect 25 years, eight months and three days later.

The freighter Summit Venture, blinded by a storm, crashed into the bridge’s support columns at 7:33 a.m. on May 9, 1980. A 1,200-foot span of the southbound bridge collapsed into the bay, and 35 people lost their lives.

The 1980 disaster rendered that span unusable. Driving on the remaining northbound span would become even more nerve-wracking.

“You look over and there’s the broken bridge right here,” DeYoung said. “It was this painful reminder of what happened, like ‘There but for the grace of God go I.’ ”


A motorcade of excited motorists make the first public crossing of the new Sunshine Skyway bridge on 9/6/54. The engineering marvel was the pride of construction superintendent Arthur Goodale. | [Florida Archives] [Tampa Tribune]

Over 400 members of the "I Love St. Pete&" Facebook group shared their memories of the bridge. Some of the submissions:

Kevin Waters: Kevin Waters wrote: I was a child going over that thing and it was by far the scariest bridge I’ve ever been over. It was called the skyway for a reason and you literally felt like you were going into the sky.

Debbie Barnard wrote: I remember my dad taking us for a drive over and back, just for the fun of it! One time, at night, he turned off the headlights just as we reached the grating! Scared the crap out of me and my brother!!

Janet Schultz Helmick wrote: Was always scared as a child when going over the bridge because you could not see the other side. I was always afraid it would end at the top. The most eerie time, though, was after the wreck. I was in high school and we were driving in a school bus to a game in Sarasota. Seeing the other side of the bridge ... and then NOT ... sent chills down my spine!

Annee Marin wrote: Oh my, so many memories! My grandfather, who was a Greek immigrant, used to take my little brother and I tomato picking in Ruskin via the Skyway. Grandpa would always make an adventure of it and bellow, “Is everybody happy?” when his 1962 Studebaker reached the span, to which we would respond merrily, “Yeah!” As a native Floridian, that will always be one of my favorite childhood memories!

Suzanne Marsh wrote: I always loved going over bridges and remember the sound of the grates when driving over. Also remember driving over and looking at the lost part of the bridge and the water below. I was too young to be driving then and had time to really look. It was terrible sight. Remember where I was when I heard the news too.

The new Skyway


Construction on the new Sunshine Skyway. | [File photo – Tampa Bay Times]


Construction on a major portion of the Sunshine Skyway bridge in 1986.
[St. Petersburg Times – Eric Mencher]


Construction briefly stopped on the north pier of the Sunshine Skyway bridge in 1986 while state Officials and the span’s construction contractor decided the next step in correcting a roadway misalignment. | [St. Petersburg Times – Tony Lopez]

A new bridge opened seven years after the disaster. While the Skyway we use today is a much different bridge, its name still conjures memories of the 1980 Skyway disaster.

The new Skyway hulked over the original bridge, peaking at 430 feet tall. About 60,000 vehicles drive over it every day. It remains one of the most iconic local landmarks in the area.


The newer Sunshine Skyway bridge that is used today, left, stands next to the old bridge before it was turned into a fishing pier. | [Morris of Selbypic]

The Tampa Theatre will host the premiere of a new documentary, 'The Skyway Bridge Disaster', on Sept. 15, 2019. Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.

“That bridge is our mountain,” said historian Will Michaels. “It’s the highest point in the whole area here in Tampa Bay.”


Aerial view of the Sunshine Skyway bridge October 31, 2006.
[St. Petersburg Times – Lara Cerri]

Times senior news researcher John Martin contributed to this report, which uses material compiled from Times archives.


The following info is from en.wikipedia.org:

History Timeline of the Skyway

1950

Construction started on the original bridge (later converted to northbound only traffic)

1954

Construction completed on the original bridge (later converted to be the northbound span). It was opened on September 6 (Labor Day) after a grand opening ceremony and then a motorcade of 500 cars paraded across the Skyway for the first time. A dozen planes and two helicopters flew over the triumphant inaugural drive. After the motorcade, the bridge was opened to the public and tolls were suspended until 11 p.m. Toll operators counted 15,086 cars on that first day (more than 50,000 people).

This bridge replaced the Bee Line Ferry (which was given a special sendoff as it made its final run that night) from Point Pinellas to Piney Point. US 19 was extended from
St. Petersburg to its current end north.

1967

Construction started on the southbound span, with a similar structure to the original bridge, built parallel and to the west of it.

1971

Construction completed on the southbound span. Although completed in ’69, the opening was delayed until ’71 for reinforcing of the south main pier, which had cracked due to insufficient supporting pile depth. The original span was converted to carry northbound traffic.

1980

On January 28 the United States Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn collided with the tanker Capricorn near the bridge, resulting in the sinking of the cutter and the loss of 23 crew members between both water vessels. As the Blackthorn approached the bridge, it also approached a cruise ship that was considered to be very brightly lit. In an effort to avoid the cruiser and protect the passengers onboard, the Blackthorn moved to the center of the region so that it could pass. Unfortunately, it was unable to properly identify the Capricorn that was approaching due to the blinding lights and the fact that it was still dark outside. As a result, the ships collided. The ships didn’t stop at the bridge, the wreckage continued nearly one mile out from the bridge.

On May 9 at 7:33 a.m. the southbound span was destroyed when the freighter MV Summit Venture collided with a pier (support column) during a sudden squall, sending over 1,200 feet of the bridge plummeting into Tampa Bay. The collision caused six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet into the water, killing 35 people. One man, Wesley MacIntire, survived when his Ford Courier pickup truck hit the freighter before falling into the bay. He sued the company that owned the ship, and settled in 1984 for $175,000.

The bow of the freighter hit two support piers. The south main pier withstood the ship strike without significant damage, but a secondary pier to the south was not designed to withstand such an impact and failed catastrophically.

After the Summit Venture disaster, the southbound span was used as a temporary fishing pier and the northbound span was converted back to carry one lane in either direction until the current bridge opened.

1982

Construction started on the current Sunshine Skyway bridge in June. The new bridge’s main span will be 50% wider than the old bridge. The piers of the main span and the approaches for 1/4 mile in either direction will be surrounded by large concrete barriers, called "dolphins", that can protect the bridge piers from collisions by ships larger than the Summit Venture like tankers, container ships, and cruise ships.

1987

Construction completed on the current bridge which was named the "Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway bridge". Gov. Graham’s idea for the design of the current bridge won out over the other proposals. The four-lane bridge carries I 275 and U.S. 19, passing through Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee Counties. It was opened April 20.

Before the old bridge was demolished and hauled away in barges, MacIntire (the only survivor who fell in the southbound span collision) was the last person to drive over it. He was accompanied by his wife, and when they reached the top of the bridge, they dropped 35 white carnations into the water. One for each person who died in the disaster.

1993

Both of the main spans of both the intact northbound bridge and the damaged southbound bridge were demolished. The approaches for both old spans were made into the "Skyway Fishing Pier State Park". These approaches sit 1/2 mile to the south and west of the current bridge.

1999

In response to the high number of suicide attempts from the bridge, the state of Florida installed six crisis hotline phones along the center span and began 24-hour patrols. As of 2003, the call center at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay received 18 calls from potential jumpers, all of whom survived, according to a 2003 St. Petersburg Times report.

According to compilations from various media reports as of 2009, at least 207 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the current bridge in 1987 and an estimated 34 others have tried but survived. Another 51 people ended their lives from the old Sunshine Skyway from 1954 to 1987. Several other missing persons are suspected of having jumped from the bridge but their deaths could not be confirmed as no bodies were recovered.

2005

An act of the Florida Legislature officially named the current bridge the "Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway bridge", after the former Governor of Florida and then U.S. Senator who presided over its design and most of its construction. According to sources, he was inspired to suggest the current design by a visit to France, where he saw a similar cable-stayed bridge, the Brotonne bridge.

2008

The approaches of the original bridge (span that was later converted to northbound only traffic) were demolished.

2015

The "Sunshine Skyway Memorial" was unveiled on May 9 (Saturday), at a public dedication ceremony remembering the 35th anniversary of the tragic bridge accident that killed 35 people.

2017

In November, work began on installing decorative lighting to the Skyway’s columns, main spans, and sloped spans. The $15.6 million lighting project provides a visual aesthetic while also enhancing safety and security by providing more light to the underside of the bridge from dusk to dawn. Over 1,800 LEDs were installed along 1.7 miles of the bridge which cycles through animated routines. The lighting project was completed in October 2019 and funded by FDOT through collected toll fees.

2020

In January, FDOT announced they will install the "Skyway Vertical Net", a vertical barrier in an effort to deter suicide attempts. Construction for the project is expected to begin sometime in summer 2020. The vertical barrier will be placed on the outside walls of the bridge and extend vertically 8 feet from the side barriers. It will span each side of the bridge for about 1.5 miles. The current toll on two-axle vehicles is $1.50.


Shows where the new bridge was built in relation to the old spans. | Coordinates: 27.625°N 82.658°W

See Also:

The remarkably safe and sound Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway bridge .........(5/1995)

The Sunshine Skyway bridge plunged into Tampa Bay 39 years ago ...............(2/2019)

Steve Yerrid, Lerro’s attorney, makes a film about the Skyway collision ........(5/2019)

Skyway bridge disaster coverage: Death rode in on early morning storm .......(5/2020)

40 years after the Skyway bridge disaster, divers finally tell their story ..........(5/2020)



Go Back to The Vinoy history timeline

 

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