Information compiled by Old Fort Days, Kay Rogers Park and The Daily Oklahoman. In lieu of flowers, friends may contribute to the Gail Shanahan Scholarship Fund, Security State Bank, P.O. Green was an avid horse racing fan, running American Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds at racetracks in her hometown of San Antonio and the South Texas region.Īlthough the two women had separate funerals, a joint memorial service was held for them on Monday, Jat Rose Palace in San Antonio. Green, an AQHA Life Member, had been married for more than 30 years to her childhood sweetheart, Ray. Sunday was Margaret (Maggie) Green's 47th birthday. Shanahan was heading home to meet her fiancé, Hershel Goodman, in Stockdale, Texas. Kay Blandford, who stayed behind in Fort Smith to continue in the competition, rode ECSTASY. Her four-year-old American Quarter Horse, ECSTASY IN THE DECK, claimed 13th place at the Old Fort Days Futurity Finals with a time of 17.461 seconds and earned an estimated $7,000. Friends who also were returning from the Futurity witnessed the accident-giving the media a personal aspect to the breaking news story.įorty-nine-year-old Shanahan, an AQHA Member since 1989, was awarded a 10-year Cumulative Breeder Award in 1999. Shanahan and Green are the only two victims who have been confirmed. Only three horses have been recovered, including a five-year-old sorrel American Quarter Horse mare, EARLY TRAIN, owned by Blandford. Several of the automobiles, including the horse trailer, were recovered Tuesday. Numerous cars, trucks, tractor-trailers, one motor home and the Kay Blandford horse trailer carrying four American Quarter Horses plunged into the water. In the early hours of Sunday, May 26, 2002, a 500-foot section of the bridge on Interstate 40, near Webbers Falls, Okla., collapsed into the Arkansas River, after a barge hit the bridge. “It's just part of our history now.Amarillo, Texas - The American Quarter Horse Association today mourns the loss of Gail Shanahan and Maggie Green, two victims of the Arkansas River bridge accident that occurred Sunday, May 26, 2002.Īccording to news reports, Shanahan and Green were returning to their Texas homes from the Old Fort Days Barrel Futurity and Super Derby in Fort Smith, Ark., after a successful weekend at the show. “I’m sure we’ll be looking at it,” Cole said. Coincidentally, Cole’s 50-year high school graduation reunion will take place at the park in June. The bridge collapse is now a part of Webbers Falls.Ī monument to those lost was erected in Webbers Falls City Park a year after the collapse. 'Very surreal, tragic time': ODOT spokeswoman remembers 2002 Webbers Falls bridge collapse Gone but not forgotten: Former mayor to host memorial in honor of Webbers Falls bridge tragedy “The real heroes are those fishermen that pulled that trucker out of the water and those divers that had to go down and do other recovery,” Cole said. Barton was then able to rescue another driver, James Bilyeu, from the river. Barton said Wilhoit and another fisherman, Kirk Washburn, then sprung to action and pulled truck driver Rodney Tidwell from the water. In a 2002 interview with CNN, bass fisherman Norman Barton credited angler Alton Wilhoit with firing the flare. One fisherman had fired a flare into the sky, potentially alerting drivers to the danger and allowing them to stop in time. You just always wish there was something you could have done.”īRIDGE COLLAPSE, WEBBERS FALLS, I-40, INTERSTATE 40, BARGE, HIT, COLLISION, DEATH, DEATHS, ARKANSAS RIVER: Wreckage of Interstate 40 leads into the water on the West bank of the Arkansas river after a barge collided with a support on Sunday. And the water was swift, it was really moving. In the distance, a light blue trunk of a car bobbed in the current. Cole scanned the water for anyone he could help. The dozens of boats he’d seen on the water that morning were down to just a few. Cole grabbed his radio and a cellphone, climbed into his Jeep and took off toward the Arkansas River.Ĭole maneuvered the vehicle down to the river’s edge and climbed out.īy then, the scene was eerily silent. at 10:12 AM 9 min read At the Webbers Falls Memorial Park off River Drive is a memorial park with the names of 14 people who died when a barge struck the Interstate 40 Arkansas. The screeching was the sound of feet stomping on brake pedals, tires grinding across asphalt as drivers attempted to stop short of the newly-opened abyss.Ĭole’s boss, Paul Gould, hopped in the plane and took to the skies to survey the damage. It only took seconds for everything to change.Ĭole quickly learned that the “bang” was the sound of a barge hitting the Interstate 40 bridge, causing nearly 600 feet of roadway to collapse into the river. Related: How this Oklahoma reporter navigated tragedy and uncertainty to cover I-40 bridge disaster 'I was shocked': First trooper to arrive at Webbers Falls bridge disaster recalls scene
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