Dump truck crashes into footbridge on Castroville Road

SAN ANTONIO — A dump truck hit a footbridge on Tuesday, causing it to collapse on the west side of San Antonio.

The accident occurred in the 1800 block of Castroville Road, near the junction with Dalgreen, around 8:30 am.

Police say city contractors were working on the roadway and the dump truck started to leave but was unable to lower the body. The raised bed apparently hit and knocked over the bridge.

At the time, there was no one on the Pedro Romero footbridge and the truck driver was unharmed. No other vehicles participated.

District 5 council member Teri Castillo posted a photo of the bridge collapse, as well as some information about the area’s bus routes and location. Officials say the area will be locked down during cleanup work, forcing VIA to reroute some buses. Efforts by the cleanup crews could last until Wednesday, city officials warned.

Castillo says her team has notified the Madonna Center, Gardendale Elementary School and other organizations in the bridge area.

Roger Caballero, chief executive of Madonna’s Neighborhood Center, says the center was damaged by a fence bordering a children’s playground. The Madonna Center provides recreational activities and social services to families and seniors in the area.

The center already had plans to move the playground, fearing that the car could crash into the same fence. Caballero says this accident proves the urgency of this plan.

“Now that we have seen this accident, it has become a reality for us,” he said. “We’re going to speed up the playground relocation process.”

Caballero says many people in the area walk, adding that the elderly and children used the bridge to access the center and a nearby school.

“We must defy the elements. Cars rush past here, traffic doesn’t slow down or anything like that. There were three or four crashes in this particular corner due to the way it leans.”

Google Street View images taken before the crash show a playground near the fence line that Caballero was referring to.

Authorities reopened the road to traffic around 5 p.m. after nearly nine hours of cleanup.

This is an evolving story and further details will be added as they become available. Stay tuned for updates on this article.