Docs: 2 men charged with aggravated arson for fire that damaged Big Mac Bridge

A fourth person has been charged in relation to the massive fire that destroyed the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, also referred to as the Big Mac Bridge, according to court filings from Hamilton County.

Due to their alleged involvement in the incident, two men and a woman are also incarcerated.

James Hamilton, Terry Stiles, Zachary Stumpf, and Kaitlen Hall were taken into custody in relation to the November 1 fire at Sawyer Point Park’s 1,000 Hands Playground. Officials claim that none of the people being held are homeless, even though the fire has spurred a new debate about homeless camps in Cincinnati.

Court documents state that Terry Stiles, 39, and Zachary Stumpf, 23, are accused of aggravated arson based on witness statements and camera footage. The Hamilton County Jail is where they are both being held.

According to court documents, Stumpf purposefully set fire to a playground beneath an interstate overpass. Additionally, Stiles purposefully put 801 E Pete Rose Way on fire, posing a considerable risk of bodily harm to all drivers above, including the driver of a Freightliner flatbed tow truck.

Hall and Hamilton are accused of giving investigators false information on Stiles and Stumpf during the fire investigation, leading to charges of obstructing justice, according to court documents. Hall and Hamilton are currently being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center, according to jail records.

Court documents state that Hall gave investigators misleading information after being questioned about Stiles’ phone number and whereabouts. Another court document claims that she was questioned about her acquaintance of over six years and denied knowing (Stumpf’s) last name, even though she was aware of it.

On Wednesday morning, Stiles, Stumpf, and Hall are scheduled to appear in court.

Several of the steel beams supporting the bridge were twisted when the playground beneath it caught fire overnight and burned for hours. This caused significant damage to the bridge.

According to ODOT officials, the bridge’s restoration would cost about $10 million in total.

The repairs are well underway already. Less than a week after demolition began, ODOT announced last Monday that workers had completed most of the bridge’s concrete deck disassembly.

ODOT personnel will start destroying the steel girders this week; according to officials, this process will require the same meticulous, precise method as the concrete deck. ODOT states that the bridge’s dismantling will go on until the middle of December.

According to ODOT, work on the bridge’s northern lanes, which include a section of NB I-471’s concrete wall that has broken, is expected to start as early as next week and be finished by the end of the year.

The one obstructed lane on the northbound side of the bridge will be able to reopen after the damage is fixed.

However, according to the most recent assessment, ODOT estimated that the entire bridge would require at least $10 million to restore and return to operational condition.

In the days following the fire, Governor Mike DeWine declared an emergency in Hamilton County, which allowed ODOT to pay for the emergency repair project upfront and then apply for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Relief Program.

ODOT estimated at the end of November that by March, all lanes on southbound I-471 that pass the bridge will be fully functional. ODOT’s existing schedule for special steel girders ordered from a fabrication company and scheduled to arrive in mid-January is the basis for that timeline.

Bridge demolition began on November 29, and ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller had previously stated that the process would take roughly three weeks.

Fuller told the audience, “It’s going to be like a surgical, very systematic approach.”

Concerns regarding the bridge’s stability also led to workers pouring concrete for numerous shoring towers to help support the structure.

According to Fuller, the concrete deck was not supported in places where multiple steel beams had warped away from the bridge, making it impossible for workers to enter or go underneath it for inspections until those towers were finished.

“Yes, there was always the possibility of a collapse, but I don’t want to cause panic or worry anyone,” Fuller said.

Fuller stated that teams are uncertain about the behavior of the structure once demolition activities start, but she does not believe there is a risk of collapse because the shoring towers were poured.

They acknowledge that there are certain unknowns, “Fuller added.”

Three things, according to Fuller, might make the bridge repairs take longer than anticipated: Weather, equipment, and steel girders were provided. Fuller cautions that although crews will labor throughout winter, they will be at the mercy of the weather.

Information from the Cincinnati incident department’s investigation into the incident and its cause has not yet been made public. The fire department and local officials have continued to provide the WCPO with information on the investigation’s status.

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