Editing Mackinac Bridge (section)

===Work and major accident fatalities===

Five workers died during the construction of the bridge:<ref name="mba-imo">{{cite web |author = Mackinac Bridge Authority |date = n.d. |url = http://www.mackinacbridge.org/in-memory-of-45/ |title = In Memory of |publisher = Mackinac Bridge Authority |access-date = January 30, 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070912171929/http://www.mackinacbridge.org/in-memory-of-45/ |archive-date = September 12, 2007 }}</ref>
* Diver Frank Pepper ascended too quickly from a depth of {{convert|140|ft|m}} on September 16, 1954. Despite being rushed to a [[decompression chamber]], the 46-year-old died from the [[Decompression sickness|bends]].<ref>* {{cite book |last = Rubin |first = Lawrence A. |year = 1985 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LEh9TGZ7GToC&pg=PA77 |title = Bridging the Straits |location = Detroit |publisher = Wayne State University Press |isbn = 978-0-8143-1812-6 |pages = 135–136 }}</ref>
* 26-year-old James LeSarge lost his balance on October 10, 1954, and fell into a [[caisson (engineering)|caisson]]. He fell {{convert|40|ft|m}} and likely died of head injuries caused by impact with the criss-crossing steel beams inside the caisson.<ref name="Rubin 1985 136">{{harvp|Rubin|1985|p=136}}.</ref>
* Albert Abbott died on October 25, 1954. The forty-year-old fell {{convert|4|ft|m|spell=in}} into the water while working on an {{convert|18|in|cm|adj=on}} wide beam. Witnesses speculate he suffered a heart attack.<ref name="Rubin 1985 136"/>
* 28-year-old Jack Baker and 28-year-old Robert Koppen died in a catwalk collapse near the north tower on June 6, 1956; it was their first day on the job. Koppen's body was never recovered. Another man suffered a broken ankle.<ref>{{harvp|Rubin|1985|pp=136–138}}.</ref>
All five men are memorialized on a [[Commemorative plaque|plaque]] near the bridge's northern end (Bridge View Park). Contrary to folklore, no bodies are embedded in the concrete.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine = [[Michigan History (magazine)|Michigan History]] |title = Michigan History |date = July–August 2007 }}</ref><ref name="mba-faq">{{cite web |author = Mackinac Bridge Authority |date = n.d. |title = Frequently Asked Questions |publisher = Mackinac Bridge Authority |url = https://www.mackinacbridge.org/history/in-memory-of/ |access-date = September 23, 2011 }}</ref>

One worker has died since the bridge was completed. Daniel Doyle fell {{convert|60|to|70|ft|m}} from scaffolding on August 7, 1997. He survived the fall but fell victim to the {{convert|50|°F|°C}} water temperature. His body was recovered the next day in {{convert|95|ft|m}} of water.

Two vehicles have fallen off the bridge:
* On September 22, 1989, Leslie Ann Pluhar died when her car, a 1987 Yugo, plunged over the {{convert|36|in|cm|adj=mid|-high}} railing. High winds were initially blamed,<ref name="zacharias">{{cite news |last = Zacharias |first = Pat |title = The Breathtaking Mackinac Bridge |newspaper = [[The Detroit News]] |date = June 6, 2000 |url = http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=156 |access-date = September 11, 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130121103110/http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=156 |archive-date = January 21, 2013 }}</ref> which was not supported by recorded wind speed measurements taken on and around the bridge at the time of the accident.<ref>{{cite news |first = Bill |last = McGraw |date = July 8, 2007 |title = Mackinac Bridge Q&A |url = http://www.freep.com/article/20070708/NEWS06/707080577/Mackinac-Bridge-Q-A |newspaper = Detroit Free Press |access-date = January 3, 2014 |archive-date = January 3, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140103183324/http://www.freep.com/article/20070708/NEWS06/707080577/Mackinac-Bridge-Q-A |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Accident Report Claims Ms. Pluhar Was Speeding |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19891108&id=H4YyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3091,639880 |date = November 8, 1989 |newspaper = [[The Argus-Press]] |location = Owosso, Michigan |agency = Associated Press |page = 20 |access-date = January 3, 2014 }}</ref> Later investigation showed the driver lost control due to excessive speed and her vehicle bumped the bridge's 4-inch-high median and then crossed back through the northbound lanes, hitting a curb, jumping an outer guardrail and falling off the bridge,<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.nysun.com/article/3232 |title = How to Build a Better Bridge |access-date = October 26, 2007 |first = David |last = Propson |date = October 14, 2004 |newspaper = [[New York Sun]] |archive-date = November 14, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071114172349/http://www.nysun.com/article/3232 |url-status = dead }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2024}} 
* On March 2, 1997, Richard Alan Daraban drove his car, a 1996 Ford Bronco, over the edge. It was later determined to be a suicide.<ref name="daraban">{{cite court |litigants = Daraban v. State of Michigan, et al. |opinion = 223659 |court = State of Michigan Court of Appeals |date = March 15, 2002 |url = http://publicdocs.courts.mi.gov:81/opinions/final/coa/20020305_c223659(43)_223659.opn.pdf }}</ref>

On September 10, 1978, a small private plane carrying [[United States Marine Corps Reserve]] officers Maj. Virgil Osborne, Capt. James Robbins, and Capt. Wayne W. Wisbrock smashed into one of the bridge's suspension cables while flying in a heavy fog. The impact tore the wings off the plane, which then plunged into the Straits of Mackinac. All three men were killed.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19780912&id=kWwiAAAAIBAJ&pg=5761,809952 |title = Reserve Officers Died In Mackinac Bridge Crash |newspaper = The Argus-Press |location = Owosso, Michigan |agency = Associated Press |date = September 12, 1978 |access-date = January 5, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Rubin|1985|pp=158–159}}.</ref>

With the exception of the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk on Labor Day, the bridge is not accessible to pedestrians. As a result, [[Suicide bridge|suicides by jumping from the bridge]] have been rare, with the most recent confirmed case taking place on December 31, 2012. No jumps have occurred during the annual bridge walks.<ref>{{cite news |first = Zac |last = Britton |date = January 2, 2013 |url = http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2013-01-02/mackinac-bridge_36117474 |title = Investigation Remains Open Following Mackinac Bridge Jump |newspaper = [[Petoskey News-Review]] |access-date = January 5, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130105021444/http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2013-01-02/mackinac-bridge_36117474 |archive-date = January 5, 2013 |url-status = dead }}</ref> There have been roughly a dozen suicides by people jumping off the bridge {{asof|2013|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/michigan_state_police_investig_1.html |title = Michigan State Police Investigating Possible New Year's Eve suicide on the Mackinac Bridge |first = Garret |last = Ellison |date = January 1, 2013 |newspaper = Grand Rapids Press |access-date = March 28, 2024 }}</ref>