It was 6:05pm and I had just finished a live report from our studio and walking into the newsroom after my workday. I heard the growing sound of police scanners and phone calls pouring in to our news desk. At first I had no idea the enormity of it all. Actually my first thought leaving the newsroom was "I wonder what time I'll be home for dinner". It turns out I didn't get home until about 4am the next morning and was back at work at 9am.

Photographer Jared Bergerson and I were under the southside of the bridge about 10 minutes after it collapsed. I can still hear the screams of the wet soggy victims clawing their way up the banks of the Mississippi in a daze asking US what happened. I can still see the driver of a blue Chevy Trailblazer who was killed as an entire piece of the highway sliced his vehicle in half. I still smell the smoke of vehicles burning in the rubble. You never forget those kinds of images.

Without saying a word to each other Jared and I both knew we were witnessing and documenting history. We knew the images we were capturing would soon be seen by the entire world. A pretty important job. Sometimes we like to toot our own horn in the media but this time the praise was well deserved.

5 Eyewitness News provided viewers with 27 continuous hours of bridge collapse coverage. Most people do not realize what goes into that kind of monumental task. A year later, I look back on that night and can only think how proud I am to be part of an incredible team of dedicated journalists who went above and beyond to keep viewers informed during one of the biggest news stories in Twin Cities history. This group of anchors, reporters, photographers, producers, directors, editors, assignment editor, managers and technical crews sacrificed being with their own family in a time of crisis to bring people at home this tragic story.

I also look back and think about all of the victims and their families whose lives were changed in an instant. I am hopeful those who lost their lives didn't die in vein and that political leaders near and far can come together to implement real change to make sure another bridge doesn't fall down.