Community members and elected officials packed the pews for a vigil at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Dundalk, Tuesday night. Attendees said it was the hug they needed, after hearing of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
A massive cargo vessel named the Dali struck the bridge around 1:30 a.m. During a press briefing, Gov. Wes Moore announced that the ship was traveling at 8 knots (9mph) when it hit the bridge.
Later in the evening, people gathered for an interfaith service about two miles from the sunken bridge. Clergy which included rabbis and an imam called for unity.
“We wanna be able to provide support,” said Senior Pastor Rashad Singletary. “Not just for today and a couple of weeks, but after the cameras are gone, after the services are gone. We need to not only build a bridge, but to build this community.”
Imam Aquil Ingram encouraged the crowd to tap into their faith instead of their fears. “It could’ve been any one of us on that bridge,” Ingram said. “I, myself, am in disbelief, but this is the time to tap into our spirituality.”
After the service, resident Joy Harvey reflected on the loss of the bridge. She said her faith was getting her through “something we may not understand.”
For her, the overpass was more than a thoroughfare. “A lot of our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, helped build the Key Bridge,“ Harvey said. Growing up in Turner Station the bridge was a point of pride among folks in her neighborhood, she added.
Harvey told WYPR that her grandparents — like many others during the Black Migration — traveled from South Carolina seeking employment and were then hired as steelworkers at Bethlehem Steel.
With a part of her rich history now in shambles, Harvey said she had “a lot of mixed emotions.”
“I heard somebody say it is like a death that happened in the family,” she continued. “And when we lose someone that’s been there for years, we all come together. ”
Standing nearby, Yvette Gregory, said attending the vigil was important to show support for the families of the six workers presumed dead. “I flew in on Monday at 2 a.m. Had the incident occurred a day earlier, my son would’ve been there on his way to pick me up from the airport,” said Gregory.
Appearing on WYPR’s Midday, Dr. Vittoria DeLucia, a psychiatrist with Sheppard Pratt, said in traumatic events, feelings can run the gamut. “You could see anger, irritability, sadness, anxiety, and some people might even have an opposite reaction of happiness and joy and feeling like ‘wow, everyday is really worthwhile,’” said DeLucia.
Various groups have mobilized to support families of the known victims and first responders. A Baltimore nonprofit dedicated to immigration advocacy is raising money that will be sent directly to families. Susanna Barrios with the Latino Racial Justice Circle said the organization has collected over $20,000 in a matter of hours.
The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) is also collecting donations. The men were Latino immigrants working on a construction crew to fill potholes on the bridge. The immigrant services group CASA has confirmed the identities of two workers who are presumed dead.
Miguel Luna, who emigrated from El Salvador, and Maynor Suazo Sandoval, who emigrated from Honduras, had both been in the U.S. for close to two decades according to CASA. Luna, left at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening for work and has not come home since, CASA wrote in a press release.
While some turn to their faith, city officials advise anyone impacted to reach out to 988, JHU Centro Sol and Pro Bono Counseling.
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WYPR’s Matt Bush and Bri Hatch contributed to this report.
