Documentary about 1980 Skyway Bridge disaster screens in St. Pete this week

With the RFP to rebuild Baltimore’s tragically-collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge due last week, it’s easy to think about Tampa Bay’s own Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

The 430-foot tall span we see today is the second iteration; the first featured a 1,584-foot long steel cantilever span that came crashing down on May 9, 1980 when a phosphate carrier ship hit the pier. Six cars, one truck and a Greyhound bus carrying 23 three people fell into Tampa Bay; 35 people died.

The fallout from the accident has been dramatized in plays (“ Mayday ”), and this weekend, Green Light Cinema , a St. Petersburg indie-movie house screens a documentary that tracks the lives of those involved, after the fall.

Former FDOT divers Robert Raiola and Mike Betz will take part in a post-screening Q&A, too.

Tickets to see “The Skyway Bridge Disaster” documentary Friday, June 21 at Green Light Cinema in St. Petersburg are still available and start at $13.
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