My friend, "Rusty", lost his mom and stepfather on this fateful and horrific day. He was 24 years old in 1980. Being a paraplegic since the age of 8 and losing his mom, his primary caregiver, Rusty could have just "given up" during this period of time. He didn't, his will to "live" superseded everything else. I was so glad when he was awarded a substantial amount of money after he won his lawsuit a few years after this tragedy. Helped him tremendously with the lifestyle one has when being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. As of today, Rusty is doing ok at the age of 64. RIP Dolores "Dorrie" Smith and Robert "Bob" Smith, Pennsville N.J.
I woke up that morning to go to school. My senior classmates and I were going to Bush Gardens for grad day. I turned on the radio and heard that the Skyway bridge had been hit by a ship. Less than five minutes later they reported the bridge had fallen. After school I turned on channel 13 news and saw the footage you see hear. It then I saw the extent of the damage. This tragic event is one I will never forget.
I was 10 years old, and my parents had moved to FL a year earlier. I remember going across this bridge as a kid, and many times after on the new bridge. I was married in St. Pete, and my parents still live in Lakeland there. Every time I visit and go over that bridge, I remember the collapse of the old bridge and souls lost that day. It indeed is a chilling and eerie feeling.
i was 30 offered a job in bradenton that paid good. but decided against it because i was nursing a 283 using a lot of oil. and crossing that bridge in the rain was murderous.
Former WTVT Channel 13 News Anchor Leslie Spencer did a great job pulling everything together in this video with a great supporting cast of reporters and a first class production crew that pulled off multiple live shots to bring everyone the story live as it happened! Great Job!
My mom was a young child in Bradenton when this happened. She said it always made her scared of bridges afterwards. Every time we took the bridge to Anna Maria Island to go to the beach she was scared. She mentioned it often. Two weeks ago I drove over the Skyway myself in my own car that I bought in January for the first time. It was night time and the bridge was lit up blue, and the moon was full. I had been very nervous driving home from Clearwater as I had never driven this far on the highway before but the sight of the Skyway that night put me at ease. I've taken many road trips with friends in their cars and the Skyway has always been the symbol that I'm almost home. I think it's only right to remember those lost, and out of their tragedies we built a new bridge stronger and safer than before that symbolizes home for future generations.
I was at school in St. Pete at the time. My dad drove across the bridge going to Sarasota about 30 minutes before the ship hit the bridge. Three months earlier, he had driven across the bridge an hour or so after the ship hit the coast guard buoy tender. Finding this video make me feel so old. That was a lifetime ago.
Richard Hornbuckle stopped his car with three inches to spare. He did go back to close all four doors of his vehicle -- and also to retrieve his set of golf clubs from the trunk.
Funny thing about having to go back to shut the doors: my grandfather's car once got stuck on some railroad tracks and a train hit it. The engineer said that my grandfather had run back and shut the door before the impact. Must be some compulsion or muscle memory.
I’ve been over the Skyway 100’s of times . Every time I cross it I get a very Chilling and Erie feeling . Perhaps it’s the restless souls of the 300 plus people who have committed suicide there or the ones who were killed in the tragedies . But there’s a lot of dark energy there , unlike anywhere I’ve ever been .
Then 9 days later, Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington State. Related at all? No, of course they aren’t. I only mention it because I had never heard of this bridge tragedy until today but I was near St. Helens, so it helps me place this time in history of what I was doing as May 1980 is clear in my mind still today.
5:34 The fact he was only going 25 mph and his instincts kicked in saved his life. Plus the other 3 passengers in the car. This tragic event helps me understand why people are afraid to drive across a bridge.🙏😥
I was about to turn 4, and lived in New York State at the time. I was clearly too young to remember this event at the time but as years went by, got older and moved to Florida I became familiar with it. Can’t believe it has been 40 years.
I had just moved here from Michigan, age 21. I remember this distinctly. Also remember how long that span hung there (YEARS) before they repaired it with the yellow bridge we now have. What they did was just use the one undamaged span for years (one lane north, one lane south) until they could repair it.
I was raised in FL and when my parents would go across it I remember that span hanging there. Now when I visit cross over the new bridge, what a difference between the two bridges.
As the new bridge was being built, the other span carried both lanes of traffic. Before the accident, most of us were weary to cross. After.... When raining, you would hydroplane. Sad times
My dad told me of this accident. I didn't believe it shook it off and forgot about it. Now I remembered it and now that I see this Im gonna be seeing this everytime I go over this bridge.
I fished along the main support with the collar. Caught snapper and other bottom fish. There is almost always a strong current that is slowed for a half hour at change of tide. I was in Tallahassee when this happened.
7:06 I thought the ship was the one in the distance cause I wasn't looking there carefully yet, so I got scared shitless once the camera panned to the left and this mammoth of a ship enterns the frame
That's why when it rains hard as hell to the point you can't see 5 feet or even just the hood.. Stop on the side of the road with emergency lights on. Slow down to 5 miles per hour and try to maneuver to safety with emergency lights. Best of all do not try and cross a bridge around bad weather time.
Can you imagine the terror the captain experienced when he realized the ship hit the bridge? It wasn’t his fault but the man received hate mail and had all kinds of insults hurled at him. Very sad. He lived with this until the day he died.
it wasnt the captian or pilots fault. there was squall with sustained 80 mile an hour winds and the freighter was empty. the wind blew it across the channel into the bridge. i lived in south st pete and the squall woke me up. i turned on the tv and there it was!
no one survived on the bus. I was working as a rigger and helped retrieve everything that went into the water. Only 1 man lived-he landed on the ship and then his car slipped into the water
Overall not the greatest year for memories. Also there was the Iranian hostage crisis, the Mount St Helens eruption, the Mariel boatlift which amounted to an invasion and the John Lennon murder. Not a great year.
Was there tonight before the bridge fell the skyway bridge seen it all in a vision felt it felt to death didn't realize that I thought it was going to go off that bridge before we went over it the next morning the wind the strong wind woke me up that's when the ship hit the bridge and fell on my friend called me and told me she couldn't believe it that I told her what was going to happen so it did happen unbelievable though that I seen in vision and felt it too so unreal right
You are a lier. That bridge was just fine, you and other people always want to place someone cause people like your father r money pushers. My great grandfather was the director of FLDOT at the time, nothing was wrong with that bridge up to that vessel hitting it.
If you’re father is Ray he most likely knows my great grandfather personally and shame on you. Degrading the structural integrity of this bridge is so wrong.
Yes,the Summit venture did some sink some years later-what an ending.The pilots' name was john Lerro and he did die of MS several years later.There is a great book about this tragedy and listening to the mayday call on utube from Lerro to the Coast guard is horrendous.He watched cars fall right in front of him.
Actually it is rather smart...He said the wind was like a Hurricane and if the doors are open they could act as a sail... Just an opinion but what do I know?
When I told an elderly coworker at work that I didn’t know about the collapse she said “how could you not have known about it?!” So I told her, “I wasn’t even born yet.”
when this happened there was a squall with 80 mile an hour winds. the freighter was empty and was blown into the bridge. also the old channel had an angle turn that had to be made before the bridge. it was impossible with an empty freighter and 80 mile an hour wind. blaming the captian and pilot was ridiculous and SAD!
@@shyman9023 they didn't have time the wind went from 30 to 80 in seconds. I was 5 miles away from the channel when it happened. Weather warning was late and INACCURATE.
Don't forget the blackthorn and 17 coastes that never made it home SAD THAT BRIDGE IS STILL THE SUICIDE CAPITAL OF THE STATE. THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES. CHECK ABOUT THE SKYWAY BRIDGE BLONDE.
My friend, "Rusty", lost his mom and stepfather on this fateful and horrific day. He was 24 years old in 1980.
Being a paraplegic since the age of 8 and losing his mom, his primary caregiver, Rusty could have just "given up" during this period of time. He didn't, his will to "live" superseded everything else. I was so glad when he was awarded a substantial amount of money after he won his lawsuit a few years after this tragedy. Helped him tremendously with the lifestyle one has when being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. As of today, Rusty is doing ok at the age of 64.
RIP Dolores "Dorrie" Smith and Robert "Bob" Smith, Pennsville N.J.
Thanks for sharing! Good vibes Rusty 💞🌟
Sorry, how was he injured?
Thank you Fox 13 for uploading this footage. This is an important piece of history for our area.
I woke up that morning to go to school. My senior classmates and I were going to Bush Gardens for grad day.
I turned on the radio and heard that the Skyway bridge had been hit by a ship. Less than five minutes later they reported the bridge had fallen.
After school I turned on channel 13 news and saw the footage you see hear. It then I saw the extent of the damage.
This tragic event is one I will never forget.
I was 10 years old, and my parents had moved to FL a year earlier. I remember going across this bridge as a kid, and many times after on the new bridge. I was married in St. Pete, and my parents still live in Lakeland there. Every time I visit and go over that bridge, I remember the collapse of the old bridge and souls lost that day. It indeed is a chilling and eerie feeling.
i was 30 offered a job in bradenton that paid good. but decided against it because i was nursing a 283 using a lot of oil. and crossing that bridge in the rain was murderous.
@dubelow we went back over the new bridge. It is nice BUT I still wouldn't trust it and they said the ghosts are still there! OOOOOOO
@dubelow we must never forget the blackthorn and 17 sailors that died there SAD
Former WTVT Channel 13 News Anchor Leslie Spencer did a great job pulling everything together in this video with a great supporting cast of reporters and a first class production crew that pulled off multiple live shots to bring everyone the story live as it happened! Great Job!
My mom was a young child in Bradenton when this happened. She said it always made her scared of bridges afterwards. Every time we took the bridge to Anna Maria Island to go to the beach she was scared. She mentioned it often. Two weeks ago I drove over the Skyway myself in my own car that I bought in January for the first time. It was night time and the bridge was lit up blue, and the moon was full. I had been very nervous driving home from Clearwater as I had never driven this far on the highway before but the sight of the Skyway that night put me at ease. I've taken many road trips with friends in their cars and the Skyway has always been the symbol that I'm almost home. I think it's only right to remember those lost, and out of their tragedies we built a new bridge stronger and safer than before that symbolizes home for future generations.
I was at school in St. Pete at the time. My dad drove across the bridge going to Sarasota about 30 minutes before the ship hit the bridge. Three months earlier, he had driven across the bridge an hour or so after the ship hit the coast guard buoy tender. Finding this video make me feel so old. That was a lifetime ago.
I drive over this bridge daily and it is my peaceful, quiet time. Never would of thought the noise and tragedy that was once here. This is sad.
Richard Hornbuckle stopped his car with three inches to spare. He did go back to close all four doors of his vehicle -- and also to retrieve his set of golf clubs from the trunk.
14 inches actually,amazing he and his 3 passengers lived.He drove for a living and was only going 25mph at the time.Probably the reason they lived.
Funny thing about having to go back to shut the doors: my grandfather's car once got stuck on some railroad tracks and a train hit it. The engineer said that my grandfather had run back and shut the door before the impact. Must be some compulsion or muscle memory.
so that would be the yellow car in the photo
What a dumbass! Golf clubs?
He got damn lucky. I would have let my golf clubs go.
I remember that day, I knew someone on that bus. So very sad. Speathon, yes a very important part of our history!
I’ve been over the Skyway 100’s of times . Every time I cross it I get a very Chilling and Erie feeling . Perhaps it’s the restless souls of the 300 plus people who have committed suicide there or the ones who were killed in the tragedies . But there’s a lot of dark energy there , unlike anywhere I’ve ever been .
I drive the thing 6 times a week. Just kind of a bridge. Not to discount the tragedies that took place, but it doesn't have any spooky voodoo to it
After living in FL for 12 years now the entire state is full of dark energy. Human were not meant to occupy this mass of land.
dont forget the stories of the skyway bridge blonde. ERIE!
There's spooky gouls there
Well I was just a kid then .
Maybe it’s the height of it
The photos of Hornbuckle's car on the precipice always gives me pause.
Then 9 days later, Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington State. Related at all? No, of course they aren’t. I only mention it because I had never heard of this bridge tragedy until today but I was near St. Helens, so it helps me place this time in history of what I was doing as May 1980 is clear in my mind still today.
Was probably overridden by the saint helens eruption
5:34 The fact he was only going 25 mph and his instincts kicked in saved his life. Plus the other 3 passengers in the car. This tragic event helps me understand why people are afraid to drive across a bridge.🙏😥
I was about to turn 4, and lived in New York State at the time. I was clearly too young to remember this event at the time but as years went by, got older and moved to Florida I became familiar with it. Can’t believe it has been 40 years.
I went fishing off the bridge when I was younger. You get an eerie feeling there at 5 in the morning.
i was fishing there one nite for sheepshead and a car flipped over our heads. WOW!
2 major ship accidents 3 months, death toll 50+
You forgot Baltimore today
@@tdb4763 how can he forget something from 6 years ago?
The boat must've hit the bridge pretty hard to make that span fall down.
You can see the blood from the body when the sheet is lifted at 2:12 😬
Haha yeah that wouldn't make the new today
40 years later I remember being there.
Moved here from Grand Forks N Dakota in 2012. This is the first time I've heard of this terrible accident.
I rode over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Feb 1979. Quite scary.
I had just moved here from Michigan, age 21. I remember this distinctly. Also remember how long that span hung there (YEARS) before they repaired it with the yellow bridge we now have. What they did was just use the one undamaged span for years (one lane north, one lane south) until they could repair it.
I was raised in FL and when my parents would go across it I remember that span hanging there. Now when I visit cross over the new bridge, what a difference between the two bridges.
I remember this I lived in Apollo Beach. I could see the bridge went down. The weather was so bad.
As the new bridge was being built, the other span carried both lanes of traffic. Before the accident, most of us were weary to cross. After.... When raining, you would hydroplane. Sad times
I remember going over the new Skyway while it was being built and my Dad telling me the story.
My word this was awful.
I was in Tampa this morning. My mom was calling me like crazy to make sure I wasn’t involved.
My dad told me of this accident. I didn't believe it shook it off and forgot about it. Now I remembered it and now that I see this Im gonna be seeing this everytime I go over this bridge.
I still remember this. Shocking and sad.
I remember it. I’ll never forget it
Why would reporters think they need to be right there by the bridge in harms way, even back then they were annoying people.
Ratings! Still true to this day
New technology! Reporters Could be there. We might find it annoying now, but it was a big deal back then.
Should be a damn lawsuit , freighter was still sloppy.
It puts you in mind of the Baltimore bridge collapse.
I fished along the main support with the collar. Caught snapper and other bottom fish. There is almost always a strong current that is slowed for a half hour at change of tide. I was in Tallahassee when this happened.
Even though I have a vacation tradition here, its still very sad. Makes me cry
they think 35 people were on that bus but in the end they really dont know how many were on it. SAD!
Couldn't the office be able to count how many tickets on the bus that were sold to see how many people died on the bus plus the driver
@@donaldwhitten2438 in those days people sometimes paid the driver and the record of that would be at the bottom or washed away
7:06 I thought the ship was the one in the distance cause I wasn't looking there carefully yet, so I got scared shitless once the camera panned to the left and this mammoth of a ship enterns the frame
Francis key bridge brought me here
Even though the bridge wasn’t old it was already antiquated because ships had grown larger.
I lived in N.ft.myers FL when this happened i was 13 going on 14 on May 31st
My earliest childhood memory
What a great memory to have
That's why when it rains hard as hell to the point you can't see 5 feet or even just the hood..
Stop on the side of the road with emergency lights on.
Slow down to 5 miles per hour and try to maneuver to safety with emergency lights.
Best of all do not try and cross a bridge around bad weather time.
Good advice
It’s Florida most people speed still when it’s storming
@@Quentlo Florida is full of idiot drivers. No wonder car insurance is so f_ing expensive down here.
How tragic
Can you imagine the terror the captain experienced when he realized the ship hit the bridge? It wasn’t his fault but the man received hate mail and had all kinds of insults hurled at him. Very sad. He lived with this until the day he died.
it wasnt the captian or pilots fault. there was squall with sustained 80 mile an hour winds and the freighter was empty. the wind blew it across the channel into the bridge. i lived in south st pete and the squall woke me up. i turned on the tv and there it was!
I know it wasn’t his fault. Sadly he was blamed for it.
Plus he was was so depressed he contemplated taking his own life.
Isnt that now our fishing spot ?
I remember this
Im here from larry lawton 💯 keep spreading the info my guy
Lol no one is in the same page as you
Eric Phillips thats to let ppl know abt him dumb ass
@@deshawnanderson7777 still no ones on the same page as you dumbass
Eric Phillips good for u buddy hey do me a favor go look up larry lawton
@@deshawnanderson7777 i already know this guy lol he was a jewelry theft.
My mom and brother was saved off this bus 🚌 by my aunt 💔😩🙏🏾🙌🏾
no one survived on the bus. I was working as a rigger and helped retrieve everything that went into the water. Only 1 man lived-he landed on the ship and then his car slipped into the water
No one survived off this bus
IT might be that he meant that his mom and brother were saved off the bus because their aunt prevented them from getting on that bus for some reason.
I can't and don't want to imagine what those poor souls experienced.
@@1432birdHow far was the drop from bridge to water?
I remember this I just had gotten to school in Thonotosassa and my teachers were talking about it
The 40 memorial is today.
1980?
yes,1980
Yep, 1980..
Thank you, knowing what year this is from helps. Because those news anchors must be old now.
They all died.
Live in tiere Verde I was always curious to see news coverage of this
The Leslie Spencer beatiful face💓💓
Overall not the greatest year for memories. Also there was the Iranian hostage crisis, the Mount St Helens eruption, the Mariel boatlift which amounted to an invasion and the John Lennon murder. Not a great year.
The release of the k-car that year made up for all that. 😂
damn i drive over the new bridge quite a lot!
OOOOOOO!!
Was there tonight before the bridge fell the skyway bridge seen it all in a vision felt it felt to death didn't realize that I thought it was going to go off that bridge before we went over it the next morning the wind the strong wind woke me up that's when the ship hit the bridge and fell on my friend called me and told me she couldn't believe it that I told her what was going to happen so it did happen unbelievable though that I seen in vision and felt it too so unreal right
Leslie spencer is beautiful
Bridge fell because there was too much water in the concrete when poured, my father was structural engineer that investigated
You are a lier. That bridge was just fine, you and other people always want to place someone cause people like your father r money pushers. My great grandfather was the director of FLDOT at the time, nothing was wrong with that bridge up to that vessel hitting it.
If you’re father is Ray he most likely knows my great grandfather personally and shame on you. Degrading the structural integrity of this bridge is so wrong.
did they ever find out if the captain was at full fault? at 6?
Combination of the weather and the fact the ship was "light".It had pumped it's ballast water out.Pilot was not charged.
njbeachgirl100 That ship sank years later somewhere around Korea I think. The guy piloting the ship here that hit the bridge is dead now.
Yes,the Summit venture did some sink some years later-what an ending.The pilots' name was john Lerro and he did die of MS several years later.There is a great book about this tragedy and listening to the mayday call on utube from Lerro to the Coast guard is horrendous.He watched cars fall right in front of him.
njbeachgirl100 Whats the book?
It's called" Skyway:The true story of Tampa Bays'Bridge The author is Bill DeYoung.I highly recommend
Hornbuckle=JoePa
Smart thinking to close the doors
Actually it is rather smart...He said the wind was like a Hurricane and if the doors are open they could act as a sail... Just an opinion but what do I know?
Sad
When I told an elderly coworker at work that I didn’t know about the collapse she said “how could you not have known about it?!” So I told her, “I wasn’t even born yet.”
when this happened there was a squall with 80 mile an hour winds. the freighter was empty and was blown into the bridge. also the old channel had an angle turn that had to be made before the bridge. it was impossible with an empty freighter and 80 mile an hour wind. blaming the captian and pilot was ridiculous and SAD!
Disagree on that. They should have known not to attempt to go in to the bay with 80 mph winds.
@@shyman9023 they didn't have time the wind went from 30 to 80 in seconds. I was 5 miles away from the channel when it happened. Weather warning was late and INACCURATE.
@@shyman9023 thanks for your interest.
Don't forget the blackthorn and 17 coastes that never made it home SAD THAT BRIDGE IS STILL THE SUICIDE CAPITAL OF THE STATE. THERE ARE SO MANY STORIES. CHECK ABOUT THE SKYWAY BRIDGE BLONDE.
Thank you for interest.
Babba Booey reporting.....
Liberian ship captain = Liberian truck drivers lmao
Also the newscasters really sucked back then.
Lol I was thinking the same thing
They sound like humans with souls instead of paid puppets
It was a terrorist attack. Nobody wants to admit. 😑