Almost a year ago, while most of the city was sleeping, a deadly tragedy unfolded in Baltimore when the Dali cargo ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Seven men fell into the dark waters of the Patapsco River when the bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024. Only one survived.

The men who died, construction workers who were filling potholes on the span, were from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.

They were Carlos Daniel Hernández, 24; Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35; Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38; Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49; José Mynor López, 37; and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26.

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A year later, the ripple effects of the collapse are still felt. Even as the state moves forward with plans to rebuild the Key Bridge, investigations into the tragedy continue.

Here are ways to remember the victims, look back at the collapse and reflect on the impact of the Key Bridge.

Banner coverage: ‘Down in that metal nightmare’

Mariela's wedding ring sparkles in the setting sun as she rests her hand on a stack of love letters written by her late husband.
Mariela’s wedding ring sparkles in the setting sun as she rests her hand on a stack of love letters written by her late husband, bridge worker Alejandro Hernández Fuentes. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)

To mark six months after the disaster, Banner reporters interviewed first responders, eyewitnesses, state officials and victims’ relatives to piece together a chronology of events.

Banner reporter Daniel Zawodny checked in with the wife of Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, who also lost a nephew, Carlos Daniel Hernández. Families shared stories about the men and the pain of losing them.

And I interviewed families who went through it all overseas, talking with Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval’s relatives in Honduras about how they were able to travel to the U.S. following the bridge collapse.

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Full coverage: Key Bridge collapse

Memorials

Day of Remembrance

Pastor Rashad A. Singletary will host a Day of Remembrance at Mt. Olive Baptist Church of Turner Station on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to honor the victims and their families.

On the day of the collapse, community members and government officials, including Mayor Brandon Scott and Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr., who was Baltimore County executive at the time, took part in a prayer vigil at the church in Dundalk.

The church is located at 651 Mount Olive Rd., near the north side of the bridge.

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Memorial site near Fort Armistead Park

A memorial site to honor the construction workers who lost their lives in the collapse of the Key Bridge sits on the side of the road right before the blockade to Fort Armistead Park. Roberto Marquez, an artist from Dallas, TX, painted a mural in their honor as well as painted their names on several crosses dotting the perimeter of flowers, candles, and othe mementos of remembrance. Members of the community honored the victims through prayer and song on April 6, 2024.
A memorial site to honor the construction workers who died in the collapse of the Key Bridge sits on the side of the road near Fort Armistead Park. (Kaitlin Newman/The Baltimore Banner)

A few days after the collapse, muralist Roberto Marquez from Dallas drove to Maryland. At a memorial area near Fort Armistead Park on the south side of the bridge, he painted a mural of a woman holding a human figure in her hand as a red truck falls from a bridge.

The community memorial remains and is open to the public, though only parts of Marquez’s mural are still there. You can see a digital version of the memorial and mural as they looked in the days after the tragedy.

The memorial site is along Fort Armistead Road, across from Royal Farms at 6411 Fort Smallwood Rd.

Watch: Documentaries and specials

“Key Bridge Disaster: Reflect, Recover, Rebuild”

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Maryland Public Television released an hourlong documentary on the salvage operation, along with the human and economic impacts of the disaster. “Key Bridge Disaster: Reflect, Recover, Rebuild,” which first aired on March 19, will have an encore March 26 at 9 p.m.

The documentary is also available on the PBS app and MPT’s online video player.

Close up photos of the Key bridge collapse, taken by Baltimore City Fire Rescue 1
Portions of the Francis Scott Key Bridge can be seen submerged in water after the Dali collided with the structure. (Baltimore City Fire)

“Baltimore Bridge Collapse”

In February, PBS’ “Nova” released an hourlong special on the Key Bridge collapse that delved into questions about why the Dali lost power and why the bridge collapsed so catastrophically.

The film is available on the PBS website and app.

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Remembering the Francis Scott Key Bridge

The Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Transportation Authority have also launched a series looking back on the collapse.

Baltimore Museum of Industry

For months, Maria Gabriela Aldana, director of Art of Solidarity, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry staff interviewed people affected by the collapse, including victims’ families, port workers and first responders.

The oral history project, dubbed “Echoes From the Key Bridge,” has been made public as part of the museum’s archive.

Oral historian Maria Gabriela Aldana speaks at the Echoes from the Key Bridge event held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry.
Oral historian Maria Gabriela Aldana speaks at the “Echoes From the Key Bridge” event held at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

Last week, Baltimore Community Foundation announced it had awarded a $545,000 grant to the museum for “the development of a major exhibition memorializing the victims and impact” of the collapse, according to a press release.

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The exhibit will build on “Echoes From the Key Bridge” and be housed in the waterfront Decker Gallery, featuring oral histories, audiovisual storytelling, digital interactives and artifacts.

The exhibit is scheduled to open in March 2027.