Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
DUNDALK, Md. — A Maryland man said he crossed the Francis Scott Key Bridge early in the morning on March 26, moments before the bridge collapsed. He was heading to his second job at Herman's Bakery in Dundalk.
Larry DeSantis, who works his job in Pasadena before heading to his overnight shift at Herman's Bakery in Dundalk, told 11 News that the speed limit on the bridge was reduced to 45 mph due to construction.
"I left (the Green Valley Market Place) parking lot at 1:18 a.m. to go over to Herman's, my normal thing," DeSantis told 11 News. "When I was getting on (the Key Bridge) there was a tractor-trailer, but it only had a tractor, not the trailer part of it. I got in front of it and we both got on the bridge. Once I got over the top of the bridge, there was a lot of construction going on, so I (was) cautious."
DeSantis said he noticed construction workers just as he was crossing the middle part of the bridge.
"It was quite a bit of construction going on because even off the bridge they were doing quite a bit also," he told 11 News.
He believes he and the semitruck following behind may have been some of the last people to cross the Key Bridge.
"There was a police car when I went by, right before I went on the toll bridge, but what I understand is they knew something was going to happen, so (police) were waiting to get word to stop traffic," he said. "So, I guess I was, like, the last one to get through. Once I got down Peninsula Highway, I saw one speed by, and he went back the other way."
DeSantis said he did not hear the collapse and didn't even realize it had happened until he got a call from his co-worker checking in on him.
"While I'm sitting at the light, the woman here called me and said, 'Where you at?' because she knew. She said, 'Did you go home?' And, I said, 'No, I just went over the bridge,' and she said, 'Well, it just collapsed.'"
DeSantis said he saw the video of the collapse online and could see "where my truck was going over just as it was about to hit the bridge."
He told 11 News he's still in shock and processing what had happened Tuesday morning.
"At any given time, you never know. It's really scary, it is. It's sad. I mean (the construction workers were just) doing their job," he said.
