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Washington, D.C., highway reopens after pedestrian bridge collapses, hospitalizing five

Agencies worked through the night to reopen the highway.

Published: June 24, 2021 9:32am

Updated: June 24, 2021 4:07pm

A pedestrian bridge in Washington, D.C. collapsed Wednesday onto a highway, hospitalizing five people, officials said.

The injuries are non life-threatening and were the result of a vehicle crash.

The collapse, which closed down the DC-295 highway, followed an incident a short time earlier in which a diesel fuel truck crashed into the bridge. 

According to ABC News, D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Chris Geldar said assumption is the truck driver had not lowered the truck's boom after leaving a construction site. The investigation is ongoing. 

The bridge had initially received a good rating in February on maintenance. But on May 25, it was given a poor rating because the decking was in poor condition. This meant the city intended to replace the bridge.

According to an update from the DC Fire and EMS Twitter account, officials worked through the night to clear the debris and the highway has been reopened.

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