PICKENS COUNTY — Emilio Tapia had no reason to think he was in any danger.

Driving along Crowe Creek Road toward the bridge on July 21, Tapia kept his eye on the two trucks in the other lane – one a concrete truck, the other from Duke Energy. Tapia often travels this way to and from work, crossing the 160-foot long bridge from which you can catch a glimpse of Lake Keowee.

Then the concrete truck suddenly shuttered, like it had struck something. Tapia heard a loud noise. He watched the two trucks swerve off the bridge, just moments before a chunk of pavement crumbled into the muddy water below.

Tapia came to a stop not 100 yards away.

“It was pretty scary,” he said. “It could have been me driving across that bridge at that time, you know?”

For Tapia and others, the dramatic collapse ra

See Full Page