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Justice Department files $100 million lawsuit against owner of ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge
The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against the owner and operator of the container ship that rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, seeking $100 million in damages for the structure’s collapse, which killed six construction workers and led to massive economic losses.
On a call with reporters, Justice Department officials said the Singapore-based companies, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, were “well-aware” of issues on the ship, the Dali, that could cause power outages prior to the accident. The massive vessel struck one of the bridge’s columns in the early morning hours of March 26 after it lost power, causing a section of the structure to collapse into the water.
“The civil claims filed today alleges that the collision was caused by a series of catastrophic failures on board the Dali in the minutes before impact, all as a consequence of the alleged negligence,” U.S. Attorney Erek Barron for the District of Maryland said on the call.
Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Justice Department officials said the U.S. government spent more than $100 million to respond to the disaster and reopen the Port of Baltimore. The state of Maryland, the officials said, may seek damages for rebuilding the bridge.
The lawsuit was filed in the case in federal district court in Maryland that started soon after the tragedy, when Grace Ocean Private Limited filed a motion to limit its legal liability for the disaster. Yesterday, the families of three of the construction workers who died on March 26 announced they would seek to hold the Singapore-based company legally liable, a request that, if granted, could allow them to receive monetary compensation.
In a television exclusive interview with CBS News this week, Maria del Carmen Castellon, who lost her husband, Miguel Luna, when the bridge collapsed, said “justice” for her would be to have him back in her life. She called her husband and the workers who perished that day “heroes.”
“They were there,” she noted, “so this country can have better streets. And those bridges, to have better conditions.”
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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