Man killed in bridge collapse identified by authorities

The worker killed in a bridge collapse Wednesday that left three others trapped has been identified, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Connor R. Ernst, a 22-year-old from California, Missouri, died after being trapped under the bridge for roughly 50 minutes.

The incident was reported at 1:44 p.m.

Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Boyd said the other three were able to get out with minor injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

The bridge is located at 148th Street and Shady Grove Road, about 27 miles northeast of Kansas City, in unincorporated Clay County. The two-lane bridge has been closed since 2016. Construction began in May 2021, Boyd said. It had been slated to open early next year.

An engineering contractor had been at the site earlier Wednesday inspecting the bridge before the concrete was poured, and the highway department reported no prior safety concerns, according to Boyd.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will conduct an investigation. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is also investigating.

The government of Clay County, Missouri, issued a statement following the incident, “Clay County wishes to express its deepest condolences to Lehman Construction Company and the families of the workers,” it read in part.

According to the county’s statement, the construction project was included in part of the federal Off-System Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation program. The Clay County Board of Commissioners voted to approve Lehman’s contract in May 2021. The county also contracted WSP Engineering to both design the bridge and to perform various inspections.

Workers were pouring decking for the bridge before it collapsed.

In Missouri, 2,218 bridges were considered structurally deficient as of 2022, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch and Katie Moore contributed to the reporting of this story.