DETROIT – Ely Hydes was walking to a Detroit Tigers game a week ago on Monday (May 9) when his plans fell through the Spruce Street Bridge.
Hydes uses it to walk to games at Comerica Park, but this time, he didn’t make it because of the bridge collapsing right underneath his feet.
“As I was walking over It, two-thirds of the way across the Pedestrian Bridge, it just collapsed under my feet,” said Hydes.
Hydes fell from 15-20 feet onto the shoulder into more rocks.
“If I was like four feet over, I probably got hit by a pickup truck,” Hydes said. “But, I was relatively lucky.”
Thankfully, Hydes doesn’t have any severe injuries. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in any pain.
“A lot of scrapes and bleeding, and my whole torso is basically a huge bruise,” Hydes said.
Hydes showed Local 4 some of those bruises and scars. It’s a miracle that no one else was hurt. It could have been an older adult walking, or Hydes could have had his kid with him.
“I’m relatively young,” Hydes said. “I’m 36. I landed just right like a cat and kind of broke my fall, but these bridges need to be inspected. This thing should not be open to pedestrian traffic for sure.”
As of now, the bridge has been boarded up and closed for repairs.
MDOT spokesperson Diane Cross says the incident was the first the department knew of any damage to the 70-year-old structure.
“We were unaware of this situation and this unfortunate thing that happened,” said Cross. “But once we knew about it, we closed the bridge.”
An inspection will ensue before a timetable can be released for when repairs to the bridge will be made.
Hydes says he is now possibly considering a lawsuit.
