1 person killed, 1 injured on old Bonner Bridge in construction accident

A construction accident on an Outer Banks bridge has left one person dead and another injured, several media outlets reported Wednesday.

The Dare County Sheriff’s office told The Outer Banks Voice that one person had been killed on the old Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet. The N.C. Department of Transportation also confirmed one person had died, WAVY-TV reported.

The Outer Banks Voice reported that a section of the old Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet had collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday. A spokesman for NCDOT told The News & Observer that workers were dismantling the bridge when the accident occurred.

“They’re in the process of removing the last few sections of it at this point,” said NCDOT spokesman Tim Hass, before referring questions about the incident to the Dare County Sheriff’s Office.

Hass said the part of the bridge being dismantled is north of the main channel of the inlet and doesn’t include a section at the south end that will become a fishing pier and pedestrian walkway later this year.

The Bonner Bridge was completed in 1963 and replaced in 2019 by the Marc Basnight Bridge, named for the former state Senate leader.

LATEST on old Bonner Bridge collapse:
-One dead, one hurt.
-Crewman was standing on the section at time it fell.
-Section is part of the navigation span over where the channel used to pass, 90 feet above water surface. pic.twitter.com/3SWyAGknqJ

— Sam Walker OBX Today (@SamWalkerOBX) April 14, 2021