Editor's Note: This story was updated October 30, 2022.
A worker died and three suffered minor injuries in Clay County, Missouri, when a bridge under construction collapsed October 26.
According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, workers were pouring a concrete deck when the bridge collapsed and trapped four workers around 1:45 p.m. The three injured workers were able to escape, but the fourth worker died.
He was identified Thursday as 22-year-old Connor Ernst of California, Missouri. It took about an hour to reach him, and the collapsed area had to be reinforced by emergency workers during the recovery, according to news reports. The other three workers were taken to a hospital for minor injuries.
Ernst enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating high school in 2018. “During his four years of service, Connor earned the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Service Defense Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and Expert Rifle Qualification Badge with three award bars. He was honorably discharged in July 2022, with the rank of Corporal,” according to his obituary.
It appears the bridge collapsed near its center. Aerial footage from news stations shows new concrete on one side of the bridge and then rebar caved in and bowed down at the center into the creek below.
The workers are employees of Lehman Construction of California, Missouri, the contractor on the replacement of the Northeast 148th Street Bridge near Kearney. The old bridge, which has been demolished, closed in 2016 because of its poor condition. The county received a federal Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation program grant to replace it. The project included demolishing the old closed bridge. Work began in late May 2021 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2023 on the replacement.
