Moment of silence held to honor victims of FIU bridge collapse

Victims of FIU bridge collapse honored during moment of silence

Hailey Scharff is one of the people who showed up to the Alexa M. Duran Memorial Plaza Monday just as a moment of silence was held in front of a statue that bares Duran’s likeness.

“I think it’s very sweet that it’s been eight years and we’re still recognizing this girl and the tragedy,” Scharff said.

The solemn event was for Duran and the five other people killed in March of 2018 when a pedestrian bridge under construction at Florida International University collapsed onto traffic along Southwest Eighth Street.

“I believe that remembering Alexa Duran and all the other individuals who died in the bridge accident was very important,” FIU student Javier Cao-Pestano said.

In the years since the crash, federal and state investigations revealed there were numerous design flaws that contributed to the collapse, which were not caught by an independent peer review.

Civil suits awarded the families of the victims hundreds of millions of dollars.

A new pedestrian bridge is taking shape at the exact site. That bridge is being constructed with heightened safety measures, all while the victims of the past are never forgotten.

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