Washington State DOT and contract workers removed the SUV and Pickup truck from the deck of the collapsed Skagit River bridge Monday, May 27, 2013, in Mount Vernon, Wash. A trailer that was under tow by the the pickup truck was removed the night before. Drivers of the he two vehicles traveling over the Skagit River Thursday evening were unable to stop before heading onto the collapsing deck as it crashed into the river below. Three people were rescued and there were no fatalities. (AP Photo/The Skagit Valley Herald, Scott Terrell)
Washington State DOT and contract workers removed the SUV and Pickup truck from the deck of the collapsed Skagit River bridge Monday, May 27, 2013, in Mount Vernon, Wash. A trailer that was under tow by the the pickup truck was removed the night before. Drivers of the he two vehicles traveling over the Skagit River Thursday evening were unable to stop before heading onto the collapsing deck as it crashed into the river below. Three people were rescued and there were no fatalities. (AP Photo/The Skagit Valley Herald, Scott Terrell)
Crews begin work to remove the fallen Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash. after barges carrying heavy cutting and lifting equipment from Atkinson Construction arrived, Monday, May 27, 2013. After removing the fallen span from the river, final inspections can begin before WSDOT can begin designing a preferred option for repairing the bridge and reopening the interstate. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Marcus Yam) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; SEATTLEPI.COM OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
FILE - In this Friday, May 24, 2013 photo, a collapsed section of the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River is seen in an aerial view in Washington state. Part of the bridge collapsed Thursday evening, sending cars and people into the water when a an oversized truck hit the span, the Washington State Patrol chief said. For farmers, business owners and government officials up and down the West Coast, Washington?s bridge collapse on Interstate 5 represents much more than a close brush with tragedy. As much as $20 billion in freight travels to and from Canada and along the busy north-south corridor each year. Experts say the economic impact from the bridge collapse will spread further than Western Washington. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Mike Siegel, File)
Washington State DOT and contract workers remove an SUV from the deck of the collapsed Skagit River bridge Monday, May 27, 2013, in Mount Vernon, Wash. A trailer that was under tow by the the pickup truck was removed the night before. Drivers of the he two vehicles traveling over the Skagit River Thursday evening were unable to stop before heading onto the collapsing deck as it crashed into the river below. After removing the fallen span from the river, final inspections can begin before WSDOT can begin designing a preferred option for repairing the bridge and reopening the interstate. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Marcus Yam) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; SEATTLEPI.COM OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Crews begin work to remove the fallen Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mount Vernon, Wash. after barges carrying heavy cutting and lifting equipment from Atkinson Construction arrived, Monday, May 27, 2013. After removing the fallen span from the river, final inspections can begin before WSDOT can begin designing a preferred option for repairing the bridge and reopening the interstate. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Marcus Yam) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; SEATTLEPI.COM OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) ? One of three people who ended up in the chilly Skagit River after a bridge collapsed in Washington state says she can't swim and is crediting her husband with saving her life.
Sally and Dan Sligh were driving across the Interstate 5 bridge Thursday when a semi-truck clipped a steel truss on the span, causing it to crumple. Their pickup truck plunged into the water, along with one other vehicle.
"I don't know what happened after that," Sally Sligh told KING-TV (http://is.gd/dgoh3M). "I just heard a 'bong' and hit my head and my hip."
She then heard her husband, Dan, asking if she was OK. "When I opened my eyes, we were in the water," Sally Sligh said.
Her side of the pickup truck started quickly filling with water. Her husband had a dislocated shoulder but still managed to help her to the driver's side, pull her out of the truck and keep her calm.
"He is my hero," said Sally Sligh, a hospice nurse. "Without him ... maybe I'm dead."
Sally Sligh was hospitalized overnight after the accident, but she and her husband are now home ? and thankful to be alive.
"I think it's divine intervention," Dan Sligh said. "It's impossible for me to believe scientifically that we cleared all of that without some help from somewhere else."
Both say they are still feeling some aches and pains from the accident, as well as the lasting mental and emotional effects.
"Now I'm scared every time I see bridges," Sally Sligh said.
Crews pulled the couple's truck and pieces of steel and pavement from the river Monday. The one other person sent into the water by the bridge collapse also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The state Transportation Department said the fallen section of bridge has to be removed before final inspections of the spans still standings can begin. The cleanup work is being done carefully due to uncertainty over the stability of the wreckage, the agency said.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced over the weekend that temporary spans for the bridge will be installed across the river by around mid-June, if plans go well.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the bridge collapse has moved underwater.
The National Transportation Safety Board focused its investigation on certain pieces of the bridge beams, The Seattle Times reported (http://is.gd/5lMaIl ).
NTSB officials said they were particularly interested in beam "U4," the second crossbeam in the southbound direction, which wound up underwater. The extraction must be slowly executed, to avoid damaging evidence.
The rest of the debris can be removed after the NTSB is satisfied, making way for the building of a temporary span.
The collapse fractured one of the major trade and travel corridors on the West Coast. The interstate connects Washington state with Canada, which is about an hour north of Mount Vernon, where the bridge buckled.
After the collapse, semi-trucks, travel buses and cars clogged local bridges as traffic was diverted through the small cities around the bridge.
On Tuesday, state officials asked drivers in the area to allow an extra 30 to 60 minutes for their morning drive around the detours.
___
Information from: KING-TV, http://www.king5.com/
Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-28-Bridge%20Collapse-Survivor/id-c3b7c239b9e94870a323caf76843d7a2
Plumber american idol memphis grizzlies aretha franklin Beyonce Pregnant Riot Fest Granbury Tx
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 30-May-2013
Share ] 
Quora's library of knowledge has been trapped behind inadequate topic search, but now any keyword generates a list of frequently asked questions and answers about the subject thanks to today's launch of full-text search on iOS and Android, and its web debut in March. Search became crucial as Quora usage is up 3X this year and it has grown to 350,000 topics, each with too many questions to browse.