Lowes Motor Speedway pedestrian bridge collapse 20 May 2000 — Incident Report
Crowd Safety Case File · Structural Failure

Lowe’s Motor SpeedwayPedestrian Bridge Collapse

An incident page summarising the 20 May 2000 pedestrian bridge collapse after NASCAR’s The Winston all-star race in Concord, North Carolina.

Date20 May 2000
LocationConcord, North Carolina
Incident TypeBridge collapse
Verified fatalities0
Read Overview →View Sources
Scroll

Incident Overview

What happened

Bibliographic record confirming a dedicated technical article on the collapse in Practical Failure Analysis, April 2001. The page is a metadata/preview page rather than full open text.

Location and identity

Where and when

Date: 20 May 2000. Contemporary reports and later technical summaries all place the collapse on the night of 20 May 2000, immediately after NASCAR’s The Winston all-star race.

Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, north pedestrian bridge / pedestrian walkway over U.S. Highway 29, Concord, North Carolina, United States. The Fire & Rescue Journal article identifies the “north pedestrian bridge” and U.S. Highway 29; multiple news sources identify Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Incident name: Lowe’s Motor Speedway pedestrian bridge collapse. Sources also use “walkway collapse,” “pedestrian walkway collapse,” and “Charlotte Motor Speedway bridge collapse.”

Key Figures

Reported outcomes

0
Later consistent injured figure
0
Fatalities reported from collapse
48
Still hospitalised on 23 May
80ft
Section length in CBS/ESPN reports

Chronology

Sequence

After The Winston
Fans were leaving Lowe’s Motor Speedway after NASCAR’s The Winston all-star race.
Bridge span failed
One section of the pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 29 collapsed, dropping people onto the roadway below.
Emergency response
Multiple agencies treated and transported casualties, including air transport for seven patients in the Fire & Rescue Journal account.

Details

Casualties and cause

🩺
Reported injuries
Reported variously as “more than 90,” “more than 100,” and 107. Later technical, emergency-response, and legal sources consistently state 107 injured. Forty-eight people were still hospitalized on 23 May 2000, and WFMY later reported 97 were hospitalized after the incident.
✓
Fatalities
No fatalities reported from the collapse itself. A Fire & Rescue Journal retrospective explicitly states the incident caused no fatalities, and later legal/news retrospectives also state none were killed.
⚙️
Technical issue
Accessible sources consistently describe calcium chloride contamination and corrosion as central to the failure.
🚑
Hospital impact
Sources report different hospital figures, including 53 still hospitalised Sunday, 48 on Tuesday, and 97 hospitalised after the collapse.
⚠️ Evidence note Dick Brenner’s 2015 death is reported in later coverage, but the reviewed material does not verify it as an official delayed fatality from the 2000 collapse.

Disputed Details

Conflicting Information

The source set agrees on the broad incident, but not every figure or measurement lines up.

Disputed Detail
Number of injured

Source 1: Motorsport.com says “more than 90 people — at least 16 critically.”

Source 2: CBS says “more than 100” treated and also gives “107 people initially received medical treatment.”

Notes: Later technical, emergency-response, and legal sources consistently use 107 injured.

Disputed Detail
Height of fall / bridge height

Source 1: CBS and WRAL say people fell 17 feet.

Source 2: Motorsport says the bridge was 15 feet high.

Source 3: WCNC retrospective quotes Dick Brenner saying he fell 24 feet.

Notes: These are not fully reconciled in the accessible sources.

Disputed Detail
Length of failed section

Source 1: CBS and ESPN/AP say an 80-foot section of the 320-foot walkway failed.

Source 2: Motorsport says a 30-foot section snapped in half.

Notes: Both clearly refer to the same collapse but describe the failed portion differently.

Disputed Detail
Hospitalization totals

Source 1: CBS reports 53 remained hospitalized Sunday, with two critical.

Source 2: ESPN/AP reports 48 remained hospitalized Tuesday, with two critical.

Source 3: WFMY later reports 97 people were hospitalized after the collapse.

Notes: These figures appear to refer to different points in time or different definitions of treatment versus admission.

Not Verified

Unverified Details

Items below were not confirmed from the accessible source set.

Not Verified
Exact street address of the bridge/venue in the accessible source set.
Not Verified
Whether Dick Brenner’s 2015 death was officially attributed as a delayed fatality from the 2000 collapse.
Not Verified
Full original Charlotte Observer and UPI article texts, which were not fully accessible in this environment.
Not Verified
Exact official final-cause wording from a primary investigative report authored by a public agency; accessible sources consistently describe calcium chloride contamination/corrosion, but the complete official report text was not located in open access during this pass.

Source Material

References

Reviewed source material used for the incident page, including news reports, technical summaries, legal follow-up and emergency-response retrospectives.

01
CBSNews.com staff / CBS News · News Articles
Walkway Collapse: Corroded Cables?
21 May 2000
Reports that transportation engineers found corroded steel cables in the rubble; says more than 100 people were treated, 107 initially received medical treatment, 53 remained hospitalized Sunday, and two were reported in critical condition. Also states an 80-foot section of the 320-foot bridge collapsed onto U.S. Highway 29.
Visit Source →
02
Associated Press / CBS News · News Articles
Chemical Corroded Walkway Beams
21 May 2000
Reports that testing found high levels of calcium chloride in the bridge grout and says Tindall Corp. acknowledged contamination at its Spartanburg facility.
Visit Source →
03
Motorsport.com / attributed in text to nascar.com report · News Articles
Charlotte pedestrian walkway collapses
20 May 2000
States more than 90 people were injured, at least 16 critically, when a 30-foot section of the 15-foot-high bridge fell onto the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 29 at about 11:15 p.m. Also lists hospitals treating victims.
Visit Source →
04
WRAL · News Articles
Lowe’s Walkway Collapse Raises Concerns About Pedestrian Bridge Safety, Inspections
21 May 2000
Reports possible corroded cable supports, says more than 100 people were injured and dropped 17 feet, and notes questions about inspection of private pedestrian bridges.
Visit Source →
05
Associated Press / ESPN · News Articles
Inspectors still don’t know cause of collapse
23 May 2000
Reports NCDOT ordered immediate inspections of privately owned pedestrian bridges over state roads after the collapse. Says an 80-foot section of the 320-foot walkway fell 17 feet, that 48 people remained hospitalized Tuesday, and two were in critical condition.
Visit Source →
06
ESPN / AP-based report · News Articles
It’s unclear how chloride got in grout
28 May 2000
Reports investigators said the walkway was built with material contaminated with calcium chloride, which corroded the steel beams.
Visit Source →
07
WFMY News 2 · News Articles
First group of speedway collapse suits settled
15 August 2002
Reports 12 injured people settled lawsuits against the speedway and builder. States 107 people were hurt, no one was killed, 97 were hospitalized, and identifies defendants including Tindall Corp. and Anti Hydro International Inc.
Visit Source →
08
Tim Whitmire / Associated Press / MyPlainview · News Articles
Couple Awarded $4M in Lowe’s Collapse
19 March 2003
Reports a Virginia couple won more than $4 million for injuries from the 2000 collapse. States none of the more than 100 injured died and says Tindall built the bridge over U.S. 29 in Concord.
Visit Source →
09
Tim Whitmire / Associated Press / MRT · News Articles
Couple Awarded $4M in Lowe’s Collapse
19 March 2003
Same AP case coverage; this version adds that jurors found Tindall responsible and says investigators found calcium chloride in the grout corroded the steel cables.
Visit Source →
10
OurMidland / wire-service repost · News Articles
Va. Couple Gets $4.2M in Walkway Collapse
2003
Reports Lowe’s Motor Speedway argued it owed nothing, while jurors found Tindall negligent; also notes jurors found the speedway breached a contract with the state regarding inspection and design.
Visit Source →
11
WCNC Staff / WCNC · News Articles
10 years after NASCAR bridge collapse, injured man changing lives
30 July 2010
Retrospective centered on Dick Brenner. States more than 100 fans were hurt, gives 107 total injured, and describes Brenner as the worst injured survivor.
Visit Source →
12
Charlotte Observer · News Articles
Man critically injured in 2000 speedway bridge collapse dies
11 March 2015
Search preview states Richard “Dick” Brenner, described as the most critically injured victim, died in 2015; it also repeats that 106 others were injured in the collapse. This source does not verify that his death was formally counted as an incident fatality.
Visit Source →
13
WFMY News 2 · News Articles
Man seriously injured in 2000 speedway bridge collapse dies
10 March 2015
Search preview reports Dick Brenner, long identified with the collapse, died in 2015. Preview only; full article not opened in this environment.
Visit Source →
14
A. Oliver / New Civil Engineer International / EMAP Construct Limited · Magazine Articles
CALCIUM CHLORIDE FOUND IN COLLAPSED BRIDGE BEAMS
July 2000
TRID record summary states the collapse occurred on 20 May 2000 over Route 29 in North Carolina, that over 100 people were injured, several critically, and that high calcium chloride levels were found in the grout. It also says the other three spans were demolished and the second similar bridge remained closed while tests continued.
Visit Source →
15
Ray Allen / The Fire & Rescue Journal / hosted by Legeros.com · Website Articles
Lowe’s Motor Speedway Bridge Collapse
Not stated on page; retrospective article hosted in Legeros Fire/Rescue archive
Emergency-response retrospective stating the north pedestrian bridge collapsed onto U.S. Highway 29 at about 11:13 p.m.; says 107 patients were treated and transported to three hospitals, seven were transported by air, and there were no fatalities. Also describes multi-agency response and lessons learned.
Visit Source →
16
Sports Business Journal Daily, summarizing Charlotte Observer reporting · Website Articles
SEVEN FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST LMS IN WAKE OF BRIDGE COLLAPSE
1 June 2000
Reports five injured people and two family members filed suit against Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Tindall Corp., alleging negligent inspection and defective construction. This is a secondary legal summary, not a primary court filing.
Visit Source →
17
Randall W. Poston and Jeffrey S. West / TRB TRID record for ASCE conference paper · Academic Papers
Investigation of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Bridge Collapse
2005
TRID abstract states one span of a four-span, simply supported, precast, pretensioned concrete pedestrian bridge collapsed on 20 May 2000 and injured 107 people. It says WDP & Associates investigated probable cause through public/private records review, field investigation, and extensive laboratory investigation.
Visit Source →
18
Carla Sly / Practical Failure Analysis / Springer · Academic Papers
An initial look at the Lowe’s motor speedway pedestrian bridge collapse
April 2001
Bibliographic record confirming a dedicated technical article on the collapse in Practical Failure Analysis, April 2001. The page is a metadata/preview page rather than full open text.
Visit Source →

A few things on the site

Have a look at what we have on the site. All the content is to assist and improve crowd safety at events and crowded placed.

Crowd Disasters
Crowd near miss incidents
Content upload
© 2026 Working With Crowds. Created for free using WordPress and Colibri

Translate »