Central Pennsylvania resident shares memories of collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge

With Central PA being so closely connected to Baltimore through major highways, many across the area have close ties and memories associated with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed early Tuesday morning.

Lebanon County resident, Jay Arthur has family in the Baltimore area and said the first thing he did Tuesday morning was check in on his loved ones.

“Shot a quick message out to family immediately just to make sure that nobody was involved with anything,” Arthur said.

He said thankfully, everyone in his family was safe. However, he still couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened Tuesday morning.

“It looks like it was just accidental, but you know, it blows my mind that they allow a ship that size through a span that narrow without either tug support or any other type of vessel in the event of an emergency,” Arthur said.

He said the Key Bridge was a notable landmark for him as a kid, letting him know how much time left until he reached his destination.

“A lot of great memories just going back and forth. It meant I was only about 30 minutes from my aunt’s house,” Arthur said.

He also added that after long drives home from family vacations down south, the bridge meant he was only about two and half hours from home in PA.

“Being a kid at an age before they had tablets, that bridge meant I was getting close to home. And that was a good thing,” Arthur said.

Now, Arthur said the city of Baltimore will forever have a different feel to it.

“It’s been part of the skyline and you know critical thorough in the area since 1977,” Arthur said. “It’s a huge change not only for traffic patterns closed, but on the disaster aspect.”