Accident kills man, closes Coos Bay bridge - Gate House
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By Kurtis Hair The World October 23. 2014 9:22AM Accident kills man, closes Coos Bay bridge NORTH BEND — One man is dead and the McCullough Bridge remains closed Thursday morning after a vehicle went into Coos Bay near the bridge Wednesday night.  The vehicle apparently fell from a work platform under the bridge, said North Bend Police Chief Robert Kappelman.  Emergency responders received the report of the accident at 5:35 p.m. Wednesday. U.S. Coast Guard, the North Bay Fire District and the Lakeside Fire Department dive team responded with rescue watercraft. The body of a deceased man was recovered near a vehicle in the water below the bridge.  Divers found a white Ford F-150 pickup truck underwater they believe is associated with the victim. It took hours for Mast Bros. Towing to pull the truck out of the water. Its sides were caved in, the cab was smashed and the windshield was spider-webbed.  After the accident, ODOT officials immediately closed the bridge, and traffic immediately backed up from the south edge of the bridge for at least a mile into the city on Highway 101. The main arterial to the South Coast remained closed at least through Thursday morning, and ODOT had not yet announced when the bridge might be reopened. Traffic on Highway 101 was being detoured onto East Bay Drive. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141023/NEWS/141029846 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->