I-74 MS Bridge Project Has Responded to the Deadly Accident
By now, you have likely seen the heartbreaking story about an incident on the I-74 bridge that killed a 21-year-old pedestrian. Today, the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge Project spoke up about the incident.
Part of the news release from the project said that the Iowa & Illinois DOT's and the cities of Bettendorf and Moline are putting in temporary measures to curtail this from happening again. Those measures are large concrete planters on the sidewalks and curbs that lead up to the river bridge path, in an attempt to create another physical barrier between the roadway and the pedestrian path. They're also planning to put in new signage and pavement markings on the path.
You can read their full release here.
What Happened?
Early Sunday morning, a woman from East Moline drove an SUV into the pedestrian path (from the Iowa side) and hit three people. It traveled the entire length of the path, up until 200 yards from the Moline pathway entrance. It killed 21-year-old Ethan Gonzales and left two others in critical condition. Those two haven't been identified.
The driver was 46-year-old Chhabria Harris. She's facing 10 charges, including:
- 3 counts of aggravated DUI causing death or great bodily harm
- 3 counts of failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury
- 3 counts of aggravated reckless driving
- 1 count of reckless homicide
Currently, Harris is being held on a $2 million bond in the Rock Island County Jail. The I-74 pedestrian/bike bridge opened up to the public just a month ago, at the end of April.