Pittsburgh bridge collapse: Rescued bus driver speaks about harrowing experience

PITTSBURGH — The driver who was behind the wheel of an articulated bus has described the moments before the bridge he was on crumbled beneath him.

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Daryl Luciani was driving over Pittsburgh’s Frick Park when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed.

“As soon as I got to the bridge, I can actually … as I was driving across, in my mind, I knew the bridge was collapsing. I could just feel it. The bus was bouncing and shaking,” Luciani told WPXI hours after the collapse. “It seemed long, but it was probably less than a minute. The bus finally came to a stop. I was just, you know, thankful that nobody on the bus was hurt.”

Once the bus stopped moving, he put its air brakes on and waited for first responders to rescue him and the two passengers on his bus.

“They came down the hill with the flashlights, like I said it was still dark,” Luciani told WPXI. “They brought a rope over to our door, they tied it to the railing. It was icy. And we were able to get the passengers off and myself.”

Luciani said he was “banged up” after the bridge collapse.

In all, there were 10 injuries and no deaths attributed to the bridge collapse. Five vehicles and Luciani’s bus were on the bridge when it came down, WPXI reported.

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Bridge collapse President Joe Biden visits the site where the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Pittsburgh's East End. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey is at left. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (Andrew Harnik/AP)

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