River reopened to boats after bridge collapse

WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. -- The Arkansas River reopened to boat traffic Wednesday, almost three weeks after a barge crash that brought down an interstate highway bridge, sending 14 people plunging to their death.

Workers have cleared most of the bridge debris allowing the Coast Guard to reopen the river for commercial boats, including five stalled barges, Petty Officer Kyle Niemi said.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, officials awarded Gilbert Central Corp., of Fort Worth, Texas, a $10.9 million contract to repair the bridge by mid-August.

Oklahoma has sued towboat Capt. William Joe Dedmon and two companies, accusing Dedmon, Magnolia Marine Transport Co. and Ergon Inc. of negligence in the May 26 accident.

Dedmon's towboat was pushing two barges up the Arkansas River when one of them hit the Interstate 40 bridge in eastern Oklahoma, knocking down more than 500 feet of roadway and sending 10 vehicles into the water.

Doctors treating Dedmon since the accident have diagnosed him with a rapid heartbeat, an ailment that can lead to unconsciousness, Dedmon's lawyer said Wednesday.

Cardiologists at St. Dominic's Memorial Hospital in Jackson, Miss., diagnosed Dedmon with ventricular tachycardia, a condition that causes the heart to beat too rapidly and deprives the brain of oxygen, Tulsa attorney Joel L. Wohlgemuth said.

Dedmon, who has been hospitalized before for heart troubles, told investigators he blacked out before the collision. The National Transportation Safety Board has said Dedmon had slept less than 10 hours in the two days preceding the accident.

Dedmon was released from the hospital on Friday.

Also Wednesday, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said a judge had granted the state's request prohibiting the two barges from being repaired or moved.