At 7 p.m. on Thursday, the Interstate 5 bridge over Skagit River in the state of Washington collapsed, sending a section of the bridge and two vehicles into the river.
It is believed that the collapse was caused by a truck carrying a too-tall load hitting an overhead girder of the bridge, according to CBS News. The bridge was located near Mount Vernon, approximately 60 miles north of Seattle. It was a part of I-5, a major highway between Seattle and Canada.
Two vehicles were sent plunging into the river, along with debris of the ruined bridge. All three occupants of the vehicles survived with only minor injuries.
The truck that allegedly caused the collapse made it safely off the bridge. The driver stayed on the scene and cooperated with investigators, according to the Washington Post.
The bridge’s sufficiency rating was 57.4 out of 100, compared to the state average of 80. Despite this high average, there are 759 bridges in Washington with lower ratings than the Skagit River I-5 bridge, according to the Huffington Post.
Notably, this week the Seattle section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released its report card on the state’s bridges. The report stated that there were “nearly 400 structurally deficient bridges in Washington State” and that “36 percent of Washington’s bridges are past their design life of 50 years.”