Baltimore Bridge Collapse Survivor Sues Ship Owners

A last-minute mayday call from the Dali's pilot allowed police officers to stop traffic to the bridge, but they didn’t have time to alert the road crew. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner via AP)

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BALTIMORE — It was just another overnight shift for Damon Davis, a road construction inspector who was supervising repairs on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge — until the deck beneath his feet started crumbling.

He ran for his life and, miraculously, made it to safety moments before the bridge collapsed into the water below.

“You can visualize, as he is coming forward, the bridge is collapsing behind him,” said Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy, whose firm is representing Davis in a liability case against the owner and manager of the Dali, the massive container ship that veered off course and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns in March.

The attorneys held a news conference Sept. 19 to announce their upcoming claim.

Six members of the road crew whose work Davis was inspecting that night died in the collapse and another narrowly survived falling from the bridge. Their job that night was filling potholes on the bridge deck.

A last-minute mayday call from the ship’s pilot allowed police officers to stop traffic to the bridge, but they didn’t have time to alert the road crew. The workers were on break when disaster struck. Most were sitting in their construction vehicles and had no warning about the impending collapse.

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The Dali, after being extricated and refloated, departed Norfolk, Va., on the afternoon of Sept. 19 en route to China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster

The man who survived the fall, Julio Cervantes Suarez, was able to manually roll down the window of his rapidly sinking truck and climb out into the frigid water of the Patapsco River, where he clung to a piece of floating debris until he was rescued by first responders.

Davis, meanwhile, was headed back to his car when he realized what was happening. He ran toward one end of the bridge and leaped to safety.

“His car went down with the bridge, and he took a giant leap,” attorney Ron Richardson said. “He just kept running for his life.”

Davis is still struggling to overcome the trauma he experienced, his attorneys said. He’s mourning the loss of his colleagues and processing the shock of his near-death experience.

Davis plans to file a claim in the coming days against Dali owner Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and manager Synergy Marine Group, both of Singapore. The companies filed a court petition days after the collapse seeking to limit their legal liability in what could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history.

Since then, several other parties have filed opposing claims in the case, arguing the companies were negligent in allowing an unseaworthy vessel to leave the Port of Baltimore.

The most damning claim to date came Sept. 18 when the U.S. Department of Justice accused Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine of recklessly cutting corners and ignoring known electrical problems on the Dali.

The ship experienced power blackouts approaching the bridge, causing it to lose steering and veer off course. The Justice Department lawsuit provides the most detailed account yet of the cascading series of failures that left the ship’s pilots and crew helpless in the face of looming disaster.

The ship, which was stuck amid the wreckage of the collapse for months before it could be extricated and refloated, departed Norfolk, Va., on the afternoon of Sept. 19 en route to China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster.

U.S. Coast Guard officials said they were maintaining a 500-yard safety zone around the vessel, which began its journey led by three tugboats. They’ll eventually peel off and the Dali will sail under its own power. The voyage is expected to take 46 days, according to a marine tracking website.

Attorneys for Davis said the government’s recent filing strengthens their case. They noted that the Justice Department is seeking punitive damages in addition to $100 million in cleanup costs incurred in the aftermath of the collapse. The disaster halted most maritime traffic through the Port of Baltimore for months as salvage crews worked to recover the victims’ bodies and clear debris from the main shipping channel.

All six of the men who died were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. in search of better-paying jobs and opportunities. Attorneys for some of their families announced earlier this week an impending civil claim on their behalf. They’re also seeking better workplace safety protections for immigrant workers who often end up in dangerous jobs.