Archived WTVT coverage: Sunshine Skyway Bridge tragedy 

My friend, "Rusty", lost his mom and stepfather on this fateful and horrific day. He was 24 years old in 1980. Being a paraplegic since the age of 8 and losing his mom, his primary caregiver, Rusty could have just "given up" during this period of time. He didn't, his will to "live" superseded everything else. I was so glad when he was awarded a substantial amount of money after he won his lawsuit a few years after this tragedy. Helped him tremendously with the lifestyle one has when being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives. As of today, Rusty is doing ok at the age of 64. RIP Dolores "Dorrie" Smith and Robert "Bob" Smith, Pennsville N.J.

Thank you Fox 13 for uploading this footage. This is an important piece of history for our area.

I woke up that morning to go to school. My senior classmates and I were going to Bush Gardens for grad day. I turned on the radio and heard that the Skyway bridge had been hit by a ship. Less than five minutes later they reported the bridge had fallen. After school I turned on channel 13 news and saw the footage you see hear. It then I saw the extent of the damage. This tragic event is one I will never forget.

Former WTVT Channel 13 News Anchor Leslie Spencer did a great job pulling everything together in this video with a great supporting cast of reporters and a first class production crew that pulled off multiple live shots to bring everyone the story live as it happened! Great Job!

I was 10 years old, and my parents had moved to FL a year earlier. I remember going across this bridge as a kid, and many times after on the new bridge. I was married in St. Pete, and my parents still live in Lakeland there. Every time I visit and go over that bridge, I remember the collapse of the old bridge and souls lost that day. It indeed is a chilling and eerie feeling.

My mom was a young child in Bradenton when this happened. She said it always made her scared of bridges afterwards. Every time we took the bridge to Anna Maria Island to go to the beach she was scared. She mentioned it often. Two weeks ago I drove over the Skyway myself in my own car that I bought in January for the first time. It was night time and the bridge was lit up blue, and the moon was full. I had been very nervous driving home from Clearwater as I had never driven this far on the highway before but the sight of the Skyway that night put me at ease. I've taken many road trips with friends in their cars and the Skyway has always been the symbol that I'm almost home. I think it's only right to remember those lost, and out of their tragedies we built a new bridge stronger and safer than before that symbolizes home for future generations.

I was at school in St. Pete at the time. My dad drove across the bridge going to Sarasota about 30 minutes before the ship hit the bridge. Three months earlier, he had driven across the bridge an hour or so after the ship hit the coast guard buoy tender. Finding this video make me feel so old. That was a lifetime ago.

I remember that day, I knew someone on that bus. So very sad. Speathon, yes a very important part of our history!

Richard Hornbuckle stopped his car with three inches to spare. He did go back to close all four doors of his vehicle -- and also to retrieve his set of golf clubs from the trunk.

I drive over this bridge daily and it is my peaceful, quiet time. Never would of thought the noise and tragedy that was once here. This is sad.

I’ve been over the Skyway 100’s of times . Every time I cross it I get a very Chilling and Erie feeling . Perhaps it’s the restless souls of the 300 plus people who have committed suicide there or the ones who were killed in the tragedies . But there’s a lot of dark energy there , unlike anywhere I’ve ever been .

The photos of Hornbuckle's car on the precipice always gives me pause.

I was about to turn 4, and lived in New York State at the time. I was clearly too young to remember this event at the time but as years went by, got older and moved to Florida I became familiar with it. Can’t believe it has been 40 years.

5:34 The fact he was only going 25 mph and his instincts kicked in saved his life. Plus the other 3 passengers in the car. This tragic event helps me understand why people are afraid to drive across a bridge.🙏😥

I went fishing off the bridge when I was younger. You get an eerie feeling there at 5 in the morning.

Then 9 days later, Mount Saint Helens erupted in Washington State. Related at all? No, of course they aren’t. I only mention it because I had never heard of this bridge tragedy until today but I was near St. Helens, so it helps me place this time in history of what I was doing as May 1980 is clear in my mind still today.

I still remember this. Shocking and sad.

2 major ship accidents 3 months, death toll 50+

I rode over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Feb 1979. Quite scary.

The boat must've hit the bridge pretty hard to make that span fall down.

40 years later I remember being there.

You can see the blood from the body when the sheet is lifted at 2:12 😬

Moved here from Grand Forks N Dakota in 2012. This is the first time I've heard of this terrible accident.

I fished along the main support with the collar. Caught snapper and other bottom fish. There is almost always a strong current that is slowed for a half hour at change of tide. I was in Tallahassee when this happened.

I had just moved here from Michigan, age 21. I remember this distinctly. Also remember how long that span hung there (YEARS) before they repaired it with the yellow bridge we now have. What they did was just use the one undamaged span for years (one lane north, one lane south) until they could repair it.

I remember it. I’ll never forget it

I remember this I lived in Apollo Beach. I could see the bridge went down. The weather was so bad.

Even though I have a vacation tradition here, its still very sad. Makes me cry

I remember going over the new Skyway while it was being built and my Dad telling me the story. My word this was awful.

My dad told me of this accident. I didn't believe it shook it off and forgot about it. Now I remembered it and now that I see this Im gonna be seeing this everytime I go over this bridge.

How tragic

Isnt that now our fishing spot ?

Live in tiere Verde I was always curious to see news coverage of this

As the new bridge was being built, the other span carried both lanes of traffic. Before the accident, most of us were weary to cross. After.... When raining, you would hydroplane. Sad times

7:06 I thought the ship was the one in the distance cause I wasn't looking there carefully yet, so I got scared shitless once the camera panned to the left and this mammoth of a ship enterns the frame

Why would reporters think they need to be right there by the bridge in harms way, even back then they were annoying people.

I was in Tampa this morning. My mom was calling me like crazy to make sure I wasn’t involved.

I lived in N.ft.myers FL when this happened i was 13 going on 14 on May 31st

It puts you in mind of the Baltimore bridge collapse.

Should be a damn lawsuit , freighter was still sloppy.

I remember this I just had gotten to school in Thonotosassa and my teachers were talking about it

My earliest childhood memory

I remember this

Francis key bridge brought me here

Even though the bridge wasn’t old it was already antiquated because ships had grown larger.

Im here from larry lawton 💯 keep spreading the info my guy

they think 35 people were on that bus but in the end they really dont know how many were on it. SAD!

1980?

Sad

damn i drive over the new bridge quite a lot!

Was there tonight before the bridge fell the skyway bridge seen it all in a vision felt it felt to death didn't realize that I thought it was going to go off that bridge before we went over it the next morning the wind the strong wind woke me up that's when the ship hit the bridge and fell on my friend called me and told me she couldn't believe it that I told her what was going to happen so it did happen unbelievable though that I seen in vision and felt it too so unreal right

The 40 memorial is today.

The Leslie Spencer beatiful face💓💓

Smart thinking to close the doors

That's why when it rains hard as hell to the point you can't see 5 feet or even just the hood.. Stop on the side of the road with emergency lights on. Slow down to 5 miles per hour and try to maneuver to safety with emergency lights. Best of all do not try and cross a bridge around bad weather time.

Can you imagine the terror the captain experienced when he realized the ship hit the bridge? It wasn’t his fault but the man received hate mail and had all kinds of insults hurled at him. Very sad. He lived with this until the day he died.

They all died.

did they ever find out if the captain was at full fault? at 6?

Leslie spencer is beautiful

My mom and brother was saved off this bus 🚌 by my aunt 💔😩🙏🏾🙌🏾

Overall not the greatest year for memories. Also there was the Iranian hostage crisis, the Mount St Helens eruption, the Mariel boatlift which amounted to an invasion and the John Lennon murder. Not a great year.

Bridge fell because there was too much water in the concrete when poured, my father was structural engineer that investigated

Hornbuckle=JoePa

when this happened there was a squall with 80 mile an hour winds. the freighter was empty and was blown into the bridge. also the old channel had an angle turn that had to be made before the bridge. it was impossible with an empty freighter and 80 mile an hour wind. blaming the captian and pilot was ridiculous and SAD!

Babba Booey reporting.....

Liberian ship captain = Liberian truck drivers lmao

When I told an elderly coworker at work that I didn’t know about the collapse she said “how could you not have known about it?!” So I told her, “I wasn’t even born yet.”

Also the newscasters really sucked back then.

It was a terrorist attack. Nobody wants to admit. 😑