Fight over Fern Hollow Bridge collapse records hits courtroom

Lawyers for the City of Pittsburgh and a bus driver hurt in the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse sparred Thursday in court over access to engineering records.

Peter Giglione, attorney for Pittsburgh Regional Transit driver Daryl Luciani, wants to subpoena records about the bridge from three engineering firms, but the city is trying to block him on grounds that state and federal statutes bar the information from being released.

The two sides disagree about whether the statutes cover the records.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Philip A. Ignelzi scheduled two days of additional hearings on the issue later this month.

The bridge along Forbes Avenue, spanning a ravine in Frick Park, collapsed Jan. 28, 2022, injuring motorists and passengers as a half-dozen vehicles tumbled down the 100-foot-deep gorge.

Luciani and others have notified the city of their intent to sue, but so far only two couples — Velva and Tyrone Perry, and Thomas and Sara Bench — have actually filed lawsuits.

Their lawyer, C.J. Engel, attended the hearing Thursday because the city has cited the same two statutes in objecting to the use of bridge inspection reports in the pending lawsuits.

Engel has alleged that the city failed to perform bridge maintenance that it knew was necessary.

The 447-foot-long bridge had a long history of problems, consistently garnering poor ratings from inspectors. Their findings included corrosion of the legs that collapsed — a focus of investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board.

A new bridge opened in December on the same spot as the old one.