UPDATE, DECEMBER 4, 2014: Surveillance video shows the bridge fell on Rockstar. Russell Weiner, the owner of Rockstar (and head of the energy drink brand Rockstar), believes the city’s lack of maintenance is to blame. See this surveillance footage:
Read on for the original article.
An accident at a drawbridge in Miami involving the 161-foot (49-meter) Rockstar has left the megayacht damaged, but no one hurt.
So far, few facts are known. Rockstar (launched in 2009 as Blind Date, above) was approaching the Broad Causeway bridge, separating North Miami from Bay Harbor Islands, late yesterday afternoon. She was under tow by two tugboats. According to local reports, one of the towboat captains requested the bridge be raised. The Coast Guard thus far does not know what happened next. What is clear, however, due to aerial photos and video taken shortly thereafter, is that the hardtop of Rockstar has significant damage due to one span of the bridge being on top of it. The damage occurred on the starboard side of the hardtop. That span may have collapsed onto Rockstar, due to a malfunction. Another theory is that operator error occurred. The incident is still under investigation, by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Jorge Pino, a spokesperson for the agency, is quoted by The Miami Herald as saying it is too early to tell whether mechanical or human error occurred. However, neither tow-boat operator seems to be considered at fault. Multiple news reports quoting Pino and town officials further indicate that a portion of the drawbridge came down unexpectedly.
On a perhaps not-unrelated side note, the bridge is set for repairs and upgrades starting this January. The Florida Department of Transportation declared it “functionally obsolete.”
Fifteen people were reportedly onboard Rockstar when the accident occurred. No injuries resulted. One of the tugboats eventually towed Rockstar free of the bridge. A local TV station reports that she was to be taken to a local refit yard for repairs. As for the bridge, it was inspected for structural safety, returning to normal car-handling operations within a few hours. However, as of this writing, only half of the drawbridge can open, according to the Coast Guard.
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