A Glimmer of Hope Amid the Devastation

Severely injured bridge collapse survivor gives birth to a baby boy

ByABC News
January 8, 2009, 1:07 AM

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 6, 2007 — -- After a weekend of unfruitful searching and tearful prayer vigils, Minneapolis-St. Paul residents are bracing for the first full week of commuting since the Interstate 35W bridge collapse.

From the misery, however, comes word of a little miracle. A 34-year-old pregnant woman who was severely injured in the disaster, has given birth to a healthy baby boy, ABC News has been told.

Rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, the woman, whom hospital officials have not identified, underwent an emergency Caesarean section and doctors delivered a healthy baby boy, according to hospital records examined by ABC News. The woman was still in critical condition as of Friday, hospital sources say.

"It was very difficult but they both made it through, which is really amazing," said a hospital staffer. "It was a very intense experience, very touching, for all of us. In this job, I've seen it all but it's hard to even talk about this woman without getting choked up."

On her first day at the hospital, she was listed as a Jane Doe because emergency personnel were unable to locate any identification on her, say hospital sources. Doctors eventually were able to identify her and her family was notified. Because of patient privacy regulations, the hospital was unable to provide her name or her son's name.

The birth was one of the few positive stories to emerge out of this tragedy, which continues to haunt the families of the missing.

Despite an intensive search by divers this weekend, there was not much news to report from Wednesday's tragedy. The number of dead still stood at five and the number of missing at eight people as of Sunday night, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. Thirteen people remain hospitalized; five of them in critical condition.

"Not much has changed," City of Minneapolis spokeswoman Vicki Herson told ABCNEWS.com. A crushed car that was pulled from the murky waters Saturday didn't contain any bodies. Several license plates from submerged vehicles don't belong to an identified missing person or known survivor.

"The currents have been strong. We're still unsure how many vehicles are underneath the waters and how many were swept away by the current," said Herson.

Herson said that dive teams would start work at daybreak today, depending on weather conditions, utilizing a sophisticated camera system that allows them to get visual locations on any other cars under the water.

Those efforts might provide some answers and an end to the agonizing wait endured by families of the missing.

Removal of the tons of bridge debris might begin later this week, state officials say.

Engineers will be using high-tech computer software in an effort to recreate the collapse, by "virtually" removing various support columns to see how the bridge reacts. They will also be looking into the construction work that was under way on the day of the collapse, to see whether it had a role in the tragedy. The National Transportation Safety Board says it could take 18 months to complete its investigation.