Grief-Stricken Families Await News

By VICKI SMITH The Associated Press

Published: Aug 5, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS - Mohamed Sahal is in seclusion, praying through tears for his missing pregnant wife and 2-year-old daughter.

The teenage stepchildren of a red-haired construction worker called "Jolly" are huddled at home, thinking about the man who helped raise them and imagining the horror he must have experienced as he plunged into the river.

Nearly 50 others gathered Saturday in a stark white classroom on the campus of Augsburg College - strangers bound forever by the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge and the torturous wait for confirmation of what their hearts know.

"Every time a cell phone rings or an officer calls, they think it's for them," said Melanie Tschida of the Red Cross.

At least five people were killed and about 100 injured when concrete and steel abruptly gave way Wednesday, sending dozens of vehicles and tons of debris into the Mississippi River. Authorities think eight people are missing.

Some of their relatives can barely contemplate life without a loved one, volunteer Allan Brankline said. They stare at photographs while waiting for new information as divers dodge hazards, methodically searching the river.

"They are asking themselves, 'When is the last time I spoke with them? What is the last thing I said?'" said Brankline, a mental health specialist and certified social worker from Rochester.

In four seconds, lives changed. People who were strangers are now embracing, Brankline said. Long-estranged relatives are speaking.

The families on campus wait in a room with no TVs, but plenty of toys and stuffed animals for the children. Those who want to see the images on screen wander into other rooms.

"The first day, the families really sat amongst themselves. But as time's gone on, those boundaries are evaporating because they're all experiencing this together," Tschida said.

"I've heard laughter, some applause, even some celebration. They're celebrating the lives of their loved ones," she said.

Mohamed Sahal's family vanished when the bridge fell - his 2-year-old daughter, Hanah, and his 23-year-old wife, Sadiya, five months pregnant.

The nursing student had been on her way to pick up a friend who needed a ride home from work when she got snarled in barely moving traffic. She called home about a half-hour before the bridge collapsed to say the traffic was bad, but that she'd be home soon. Sahal is so devastated he can barely speak.