Bridge demolition plan ‘not being followed’ when Bonney Lake family was killed

Mayor of Bonney Lake Neil Johnson said the demolition plan of a Highway 410 bridge was not being followed when a slab of concrete crushed a family of three driving underneath.

“They weren’t even supposed to have started demolition yet,” Johnson told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson.

At the same time crews were cutting the concrete on Monday, a meeting between the City of Bonney Lake and the contractor of the project was underway to update the city. Meetings between contractors of city projects and the city’s inspector occur every Monday, Johnson said.

“Nowhere in those meetings did they say we’re starting demolition,” Johnson told Dori. “They did not have anything in place for safety…”

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The contract for the work expressly requires the contractor to protect traffic from falling concrete and debris. That includes placing flaggers on the roadway to stop traffic when demolition is occurring, Johnson said on the show. There also should have been proper equipment in place to prevent the concrete from falling.

“That’s how it should have worked,” Johnson said.

The subcontractor connected to the fatal accident previously committed a violation that led to the collapse of part of the Sauvie Island Bridge near Portland, The News Tribune reports. The 2008 collapse occurred because workers did not follow the demolition plan.

The work in Bonney Lake was part of a $1.7 million project to add lights and a sidewalk along Highway 410.

“The demolition plan calls for the bridge to be disassembled in pieces by saw cutting the concrete and rebar in sections, then removing the sections with hydraulic excavators,” the mayor said.

Johnson has ordered the Public Works Director to suspend work on the project.

Inspectors have found that the overpass is safe to travel over and under the work site. However, the westbound shoulder of the bridge is closed to pedestrian and other
traffic until further notice.

Josh and Vanessa Ellis and their 8-month-old son, Hudson, were killed in the accident.

The fatal accident is still being investigated.

A roadside memorial was placed near the site. A permanent memorial to remember the family could be built in the future, Johnson said.

KING 5 obtained a copy of the 911 recordings which include a call from one of the workers at the site.

“We just had a barrier rail fall on a freeway – I’m at a construction site right now. It fell off on a car,” he said.

“I’m sorry, what?” asked the dispatcher.

“I’m on a freeway job off of Angeline and 410 and the barrier rail that we’re working on fell off onto a car,” he said.

A witness was also heard describing the scene:

“Right underneath the Highway 410 bridge on Angeline, the whole thing caved in. And there’s a car in the roadway.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.