A partial bridge collapse in Sealy crushed a car, killing a 12-year-old girl and injuring her mom, The Texas Department of Public Safety confirms. Another child was injured in the incident.
Witnesses say it was about 9:45 a.m. Thursday when a large truck hit the bridge on Highway 36 at Highway 90, causing the collapse.
"When it hit, it was like boom," said Darrel Carlton. "And it shook. Everything just shook."
Views from Air 11 showed falling debris crushed the front of a Chevrolet Camaro with three people inside. Twelve-year-old Brein Bollock was in the front seat and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I went and jumped on my golf cart and ran down there to see if I could help," Carlton said. "The little girl was screaming,' Help, help!'"
Her mom, Leah, was driving the vehicle and was taken to the hospital by Life Flight. The victim's 9-year-old brother was in the back seat and he walked away with minor injuries.
"I was trying to help because I didn't want the bridge to fall on anybody," Carlton said.
PHOTOS: Deadly bridge collapse
The dumpster delivery truck, registered to Texas Texas Disposal Systems, had just dropped off a dumpster. For some reason, its boom was still up as the driver, 72-year-old Carl Weige, approached the bridge.
"The warning indicators were hit by this truck but the truck didn't stop," said Sealy Police Chief Chris Noble. "The force that beam was hit was catastrophic."
The force was so intense, it knocked the steel beam off the bridge.
Investigators say the truck's indicator lights were buzzing and lit up, warning that the boom was up.
Police are handling it as a homicide investigation.
Weige was taken to the hospital in Sealy with non-life threatening injuries.
Sealy police are working with TxDOT to determine if the bridge is still safe after this deadly accident.
"That bridge is rotten from the inside out. I don't even like walking on it from the top," Noble said.
The Sealy News reported the bridge crossing was shut down in December 2014 due to damage from an oversized truck passing underneath. At that time, TXDoT officials said they were exploring various options for the aging bridge, including replacing it with a new bridge in 2017.
The bridge was last inspected in 2015.
It was built in 1936 and is now considered "functionally obsolete," meaning it wouldn't be built the same way today.