OSHA investigating fatal bridge collapse on Outer Banks

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration began investigating the fatal accident on Thursday, and no details were available on what caused the collapse.

Coast Guard officials said they were called to the area at about 5 p.m. Wednesday and helped paramedics and firefighters pull one worker out of the water. That person later died.

"It's just awful. Words can't describe [it]," Dare County resident Tobi Wild said. "To the family, all you can say is, 'I'm sorry.'"

Resident Michael Edwards said he felt the Bonner Bridge, which opened in 1963, was unsafe for years. He would even unfasten his seatbelt and roll down his window whenever he drove over it for a possible quick escape if the roadway were to fall into the water.

"Dealing with water and currents and all the weather conditions," Edwards said, "it was, I would say, declared unsafe so long ago."

The state Department of Transportation hired PCL Construction to handle the bridge dismantling, and the company said in a statement it was "deeply shocked and saddened" by the accident and was supporting the families of the workers in every way possible.

"Safety of all workers is our top priority and we are doing everything we can to investigate this incident and assist local authorities," the statement said.

Power was restored six days later, and PCL agreed to pay $10.3 million to businesses, homeowners and vacationers who sued over the outage.