More Human Remains Found at Bridge Site*

Monday August 13, 2007 1:16 AM

By MARTIGA LOHN

Associated Press Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Divers found more human remains in the Mississippi
River on Sunday, 11 days after a highway bridge collapsed into the
fast-flowing water, and a crane working at one end of the ruined span
removed a school bus and other vehicles.

Navy divers searched for five people missing and presumed dead. Stormy
weather made their task more dangerous over the weekend, strengthening
river currents Saturday.

But conditions had cleared Sunday and the remains were recovered about
eight hours into the search, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office said.

The official death toll stood at eight while the county's medical
examiner identified the remains.

The yellow school bus became a symbol of a disaster that could have been
worse. Everyone on board - 52 children and several adults - escaped alive.

One of the bus survivors, Julie Graves, had been accompanying children
from a neighborhood center in Minneapolis on a trip to a water park the
day the bridge collapsed.

On Sunday, her feet were in casts and tight wraps on her arms locked her
elbows. She has been in a back brace after surgery to repair two broken
lumbar vertebrae last week, but is expected to make a full recovery.

``I'm doing good,'' Graves said by phone Sunday from Hennepin County
Medical Center. ``Some pain here and there definitely. But I'm so
grateful to be alive.''

In all, 44 vehicles have been removed from the bridge since its
collapse. About 100 vehicles had been on the structure when it fell on
Aug. 1, said Minnesota Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin
Gutknecht.

Most vehicles on the bridge's north end were gone; Gutknecht said work
would focus on the south end for the next day or two.

Broken glass remained on a slanted section on the bridge's north end as
pedestrians and cyclists peered through a mesh fence put up to keep them
from getting too close.

So far, crews have cleared cars from parts of the bridge that fell onto
land. Equipment is positioned to start major debris removal once the
recovery efforts are finished.

The list of confirmed missing included Christine Sacorafas, 45, of White
Bear Lake; Vera Peck, 50, and her son Richard Chit, 20, both of
Bloomington; Greg Jolstad, 45, of Mora; and Scott Sathers, 29, of Maple
Grove.

About 100 people were injured in the collapse, but only eight remained
hospitalized, their conditions ranging from serious to good. Hennepin
County Medical Center released one patient and upgraded another from
serious to satisfactory condition, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

Graves, who celebrated her 28th birthday at the hospital Friday, expects
to remain at the hospital for up to two weeks.

She had planned to get married at the end of the month and she said she
still may exchange vows, but the wedding celebration has been pushed
back to May ``so I can be in full dancing condition.''

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