Bridge Collapses in U.S, Sending Cars into River

{{Part of a four-lane freeway bridge over a river in rural Washington state collapsed on Thursday, sending vehicles and drivers tumbling into the frigid water, authorities said.}}

Two of the three people rescued from the river were hospitalized with hypothermia, said Given Kutz, a spokesman for Skagit County in the northern part of the state.

There were apparently no fatalities. “They (rescuers) don’t expect anyone else (remains) in the water,” he said.

Authorities were awaiting confirmation on the cause of the collapse, said a second Skagit County spokesman, Jim Martin. Local media reported it might have been caused by a truck striking the structure.

It was not raining at the time, Washington State Patrol spokesman Trooper Mark Francis said.

The bridge is on the Interstate 5 freeway where it crosses the Skagit River between the towns of Mount Vernon and Burlington, 55 miles north of Seattle.

The freeway is the main corridor for car traffic between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada.

The bridge was built in 1955, according to the website for the National Bridge Inventory Database.

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