Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez announced Friday his agency’s homicide squad is leading the investigation into the pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University and will determine if criminal negligence charges apply.
“We’ve got to look at the reality that there may be some negligence down the line,” Perez said during an interview on WIOD 610 AM Friday morning. “It will help determine whether someone is liable for this … It’s obviously an accident either way. We have to look to see if somebody contributed to that accident.”
The collapse took place shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday. More than 100 Miami-Dade firefighters responded to the scene where eight vehicles sat crushed beneath the 950-ton footbridge.
National Transportation Safety Board and Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials arrived on scene at Southwest Eighth Street late Thursday and are working with local agencies to determine if poor planning and construction of the $14.2 million bridge played a roll in causing the accident.
The Miami-Dade state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle will visit Friday.
Fire and rescue officials announced Friday morning that six people were killed and 10 others have been hospitalized due to the bridge collapse.
A handful of people remain trapped under the bridge and Perez said the response is now a recovery effort.
