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A barge crashed into the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, causing a section of the bridge, including railroad tracks, to smash down onto the barge, FOX 7 Austin reports.
Officials said there were no reports of injuries in the collision that occurred around 10 a.m.
However, Galveston County Judge Mark Henry says two crew members did go overboard but were recovered from the water, FOX 7 Austin reports.
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A barge crashed into the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, causing a section of the structure to fall onto the barge, Fox 7 Austin reports. (Fox 7 Austin)
Henry says the collision caused oil to spill from the barge, which has a capacity of 30,000 gallons, although it is unclear how much of it went into the water.
Video from the scene shows debris from the bridge and part of the rail tracks on top of the barge as it rests against the bridge. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the barge to strike the bridge.
Pelican Island is north of Galveston and is connected to the city by the bridge, which is the only way people can access the island by land, and officials said the bridge has been shut down to traffic in both directions.
Texas A&M University at Galveston, which is located on Pelican Island, reported that its power was briefly shut off but has since been restored. Texas A&M University at Galveston is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University.
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Officials said the bridge was shut down to traffic in both directions. (KRIV)
The incident comes about six weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore when a Sri Lanka-bound container ship hit the structure, causing it to fall into Baltimore’s harbor, killing six construction workers.
The disaster in Baltimore and a spate of recent incidents involving barges has highlighted the vulnerability of bridges to strikes.
Just last Thursday, a barge struck the Fort Madison Bridge in Iowa and later sank in the Mississippi River.
In that incident, the U.S. Coast Guard told Fox News Digital that there were 15 barges being moved by a tug boat when one of them got loose and collided with the nearly 100-year-old bridge.
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the barge to strike the bridge. (KRIV)
Last month, more than two dozen river barges broke loose from their moorings and floated down the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, striking one bridge that had already been preemptively closed and damaging a marina, officials said.
The boats eventually were pinned to the riverbank or went over a dam downstream.
Pelican Island is located north of Galveston and is connected to the city by the bridge.
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A New Jersey animal shelter is asking for the public’s help after last month’s blizzard did heavy damage to its property in Ocean County.
On social media, Popcorn Park Animal Refuge posted a video and described the fury of the storm. saying that the blizzard “caused unexpected damage… impacting habitats, fencing, structures, and critical infrastructure.”
The nonprofit animal haven says its team “worked tirelessly to keep every animal safe during the storm,” however, “the aftermath has left us facing urgent repairs and significant financial strain.”
Photo: Popcorn Park Animal Refuge
The refuge says this winter has been “especially challenging.” It says “repeated severe weather has forced extended closures to the public, further limiting vital support and creating an added burden during an already difficult recovery period,” adding “we need our community now more than ever.”
Popcorn Park was established in 1977, according to its website. It’s part of the Associated Humane Societies — which bills itself as New Jersey’s largest animal welfare organization. Popcorn Park describes itself as “a sanctuary for abandoned, injured, ill, exploited, abused, or elderly farm animals, birds, and wildlife (domestic and exotic).”
Local News
A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.
Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.
The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.
That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.
When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.
First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.
The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.
Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.
At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.
Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.
Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.
The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.
“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.
Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.
Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.
“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.
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