Bridge Collapse Case Heads To Court

The first lawsuit has been filed following the Hidden Lake Park bridge collapse in Merrillville, Ind., on the Fourth of July, and more are likely.

Attorney Kenneth J. Allen said Wednesday he filed in Lake County on behalf of Gary, Ind., resident Treniece Campbell, 37, and her husband, Lawrence, 41. They are suing Ross Township and Ross Township Trustee John Rooda for $500,000.

No one from Ross Township could be reached for comment.

Treniece Campbell attended the press conference in a wheelchair and said she was on pain medication for her fractured back.

Allen also represents Markieta Moore, 22, of Merrillville, for back injuries sustained in the collapse , as well as Moore's daughter, Maijah Brewer, 5. Those two also attended the press conference.

He hasn't filed on Moore's behalf because the case could become a class action based on the dozens of people who've contacted his firm, he said.

Only one name needs to be on a class action, and 25 people were taken to area hospitals afterward, according to official accounts.

"We haven't yet decided which cases we'll accept, but the important thing is it doesn't happen again," Allen said.

The holiday celebration occurred for years without problems, and Allen attributes the collapse to insufficient inspections and bad planning.

He alleges police assigned to alternate groups across the bridge didn't do their duty.

"They abandoned their posts as soon as the fireworks celebration was about to end," he said.

Campbell said she was leaving early when she saw the officers stop regulating the number of people on the bridge and she tried to get off.

She heard a snap and fell into the 6-to-8-feet-deep water.

"I thought I was going to die. It was very, very scary. It was dark; kids were screaming," Campbell said.

Someone helped pull her out of the water and she waited on shore until a rowboat ferried her to an ambulance. Her husband suffered no serious injury.

Moore said she heard the crack and fell backwards, more concerned where her daughter was than that she couldn't swim.

The case has a hearing in 10 days on a restraining order granted to stop officials from doing anything with evidence from the scene before Allen's experts review it.

Allen stressed that the suit's purpose isn't to end the celebration but increase safety.