New Lawsuit Filed Over Florida Pedestrian Bridge Collapse

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Another lawsuit has been filed in the aftermath of a pedestrian bridge collapse near a Florida university campus.

The Miami Herald reports that a 19-year-old who was a passenger in an SUV crushed by a slab of concrete filed a lawsuit Thursday against several companies involved in the bridge’s construction near Florida International University.

The teen, Richard Humble, was riding in an SUV driven by FIU student Alexa Duran. He managed to escape but she did not survive.

Duran’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday. Their attorney, Alan Goldfarb, said the companies involved in the bridge project “didn’t thoroughly think it through.”

The collapse March 15 killed six people.

Other lawsuits have been filed by the family of Rolando Fraga, 60, a software engineer killed in the collapse; Emily Joy Panagos, 22, an FIU student who escaped after her car was partially crushed; and Marquise Hepburn, 24, who was hurt while riding his bicycle near the bridge.

None of the suits names FIU or the Florida Department of Transportation because of a law giving them “sovereign immunity,” which means lawyers must give the entities 180 days notice before filing a suit.