Baltimore officials are in a frenzy as the Francis Scott Key Bridge has collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship. Search and rescue efforts are underway to locate people who might have fallen into the water during the collapse, and a key thoroughfare to the second busiest port on the eastern seaboard has been severed. But none of this has stopped people in cars who just need to get where they’re trying to go, no matter what.
In a video posted to X by @MolotovFlicker, drivers can be seen going around a barricade set up to keep people from driving towards the collapsed bridge. The first vehicle — a Toyota Tacoma — appears to have a couple of people sitting in the truck bed. Another car, a Camry, follows suit, most likely in a “If they’re doing it, I’m doing it too” way.
A third vehicle — a Jeep Gladiator — goes at the same time as a first responder vehicle with its flashing lights, but it gets blocked by the first responders and presumably is made to go back the way that it came. Some people were so desperate to get through that another video shows a man running down the street towards the bridge on foot. @MolotovFlicker says they asked the first responders if the man was one of theirs and they said no. It’s not known what became of this man.
What’s the reason for all of this though? What could drive adult human beings to want to willingly go towards a road that ends at a collapsed bridge? Had they not seen the news and didn’t know what had happened? Were they clueless, frustrated commuters just trying to get where they’re going on? Are they reports or people with social media news accounts who are trying to get a scoop for views? Who knows. Whatever the reason though, it’s pretty disturbing that people that impatient and clueless live — and drive — among us.