news
personal stories
traffic
victims
multimedia
Minneapolis Bridge Collapse: Remembering the Dead and the Missing
The great sadness of the I35-W Bridge collapse will linger for family and friends of the dead. But vivid memories of the victims' lives will begin to subdue the pain.
 

Remembering the Dead


Sherry Engebretsen
It was a little thing, but Sherry Engebretsen knew how to take care of details, especially when it came to her daughters.
Artemio Trinidad-Mena
Abundia Martinez is Artemio Trinidad-Mena's wife. The two are originally from Mexico, though Artemio has lived in Minnesota for about 10 years, and has worked at New York Plaza Produce in south Minneapolis for almost a year.
Julia Blackhawk
Julia Blackhawk had recently taken a new Indian name. The 32-year-old from Savage was given the name Thunder Woman during a pow-wow at Easter. Her uncle, John Blackhawk, is a Winnebago Tribal Council member. He says Julia was a kind person who always showed respect for her elders. And he says she had one attribute that was very special.
Patrick Holmes
Patrick Holmes, 36, of Mounds View, was found dead at the scene of the bridge collapse that same night. His wife, Jennifer, heard the news a little after midnight. The autopsy shows Holmes died instantly from his injuries after falling onto the collapsed portion of 35W. He was on his way home from work.
Peter Hausmann
Peter Hausmann, 47, was a computer security specialist worked at Assurity River Group in St. Paul. The company's president says Hausmann was a quiet leader and a man of faith.
Paul Eickstadt
Paul Eickstadt drove a delivery truck for Sara Lee Bakery for 14 years. He was just beginning his shift, on his way to Iowa, when the 35W bridge collapsed. His truck fell forward, burst into flames, and dangled dramatically between two sections of concrete. Eickstadt, 51, lived in Mounds View. He is survived by a brother and two sisters.
Greg Jolstad
Greg Jolstad's friends called him Jolly "because of his name, and because that's just how he was." Bill Stahlke remembers ice fishing almost daily, as teenagers, with Jolstad and Jim Hallin on Knife Lake, near the Jolstad family farm. The three haven't missed a winter on the lake in the nearly 30 years since they graduated together from Mora High School.
Scott Sathers
On Aug. 1, Scott Sathers left his job in downtown Minneapolis at Capella University, where he worked as an enrollment director, approximately 40 minutes later than usual. Sathers called his wife Betsy at 5:50 p.m. from Washington Ave. and 35W, where he was about to get on 35W to go north to his home in Blaine. No one has heard from him since.
Christina Sacorafas
Christina Sacorafas was running late, and called her friend and fellow dance instructor, Rena Tsengas, to say she would be late. But Sacorafas never made it the Minneapolis church where students in her Greek folk dancing group were waiting for her to begin class.
Sadiya and Hanah Sahal
For Ahmed Iidle, the I-35W bridge collapse has brought a double loss. His daughter Sadiya Sahal, 23, and her 2-year-old daughter Hanah were headed to a relative's house when the bridge crumbled beneath them. They haven't been heard from since.
Vera Peck and Richard Chit
Vera Peck and her 20-year-old son Richard Chit were traveling in the same car when the bridge collapsed.

MPR News
Radio

Listen Now

Other Radio Streams from MPR

Classical MPR
Radio Heartland

Services