Written by WCPO’s Felicia Jordan , Molly Schramm and Danielle Goodman
Four people were arraigned Wednesday morning in connection with the massive fire that damaged the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, or Big Mac Bridge, according to Hamilton County court records.
Three men and a woman are now in custody for their alleged involvement with the fire.
James Hamilton, Terry Stiles, Zachary Stumpf and Kaitlen Hall were arrested in connection with the Nov. 1 fire at 1,000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park. Officials said none of the people arrested are experiencing homelessness, despite the fire sparking a new debate about homeless encampments around Cincinnati.
Court records show that Zachary Stumpf, 23, and Terry Stiles, 39, are facing aggravated arson charges based on video and witness statements. They are both being held at the Hamilton County Jail.
Stumpf “intentionally set a fire on a playground located under an interstate overpass,” according to court records. According to court documents, Stiles also intentionally set a fire at 801 E Pete Rose Way, “creating a substantial risk of serious physical harm to all of the motorists above,” including the driver of a Freightliner flatbed tow truck.
Court records show Hall and Hamilton face charges of obstructing justice after both allegedly gave misleading information to investigators about Stiles and Stumpf during officials’ arson investigation. Hall and Hamilton are also currently booked at the Hamilton County Justice Center, according to jail records.
Hall “was asked questions about (Stiles’) telephone number and his whereabouts” and she gave investigators false information, per court records. Another court document says she “was asked questions about her friendship of greater than six years and denied knowing (Stumpf’s) last name when in fact she was aware of the information.”
Stiles, Stumpf and Hall are all expected to be in court Wednesday morning.
Stiles did not appear in court. According to the court clerk, he was causing issues and was placed in a straight chair with a spit mask. The judge went over multiple prior offenses and cited Stiles as a public safety risk.
Fire investigators said in court SWAT had to be called to arrest Stumpf.
Both Stiles and Stumpf were issued a $1 million bond. They are both expected to be back in court on Dec. 17.
Both Hall and Hamilton were issued $60,000 bonds. They are scheduled to be back in court on Dec 20. Hall and Hamilton’s defense attorney both said their accused crimes are just “words.”
The bridge was severely damaged after the playground, located beneath the bridge, caught fire overnight and burned for hours in a blaze that was large and hot enough to warp some of the steel beams supporting the bridge.
ODOT officials have estimated the full cost of repairing the bridge will be around $10 million.
Those repairs are already well underway. Last week, ODOT said crews have completed most of the removal of the bridge’s concrete deck, less than one week after demolition efforts began.
This week, ODOT crews will begin demolition on the steel girders, which officials said will also require the same slow, “surgical” approach crews have undertaken with the concrete deck. Demolition on the bridge is expected to continue through the middle of December, ODOT said.
Repairs to the damage on the bridge’s northern lanes — including a damaged section of concrete wall on NB I-471 — are expected to begin as early as next week, with completion scheduled by the end of the year, ODOT said.
Once that damage is repaired, the single lane that’s been closed on the northbound side of the bridge will be able to re-open.
In all, however, ODOT said the cost of fixing the entire bridge and getting it back into working condition will come with a price tag of “at least $10 million,” according to ODOT’s latest update.
ODOT will pay for the emergency repair project up front, but will pursue reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Relief Program — a move that’s possible because Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in Hamilton County in the days after the fire.
At the end of November, ODOT estimated it would take until March for all lanes on southbound I-471 across the bridge to fully open. That timeline is contingent on ODOT’s current plan for custom-made steel girders order from a fabrication company that’s currently expected to arrive in mid-January.
Demolition on the bridge began on Nov. 29 and ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller previously said the process is expected to take roughly three weeks.
“It’s going to be like a surgical, very systematic approach,” Fuller said.
There have also been concerns about the stability of the bridge, which prompted crews to pour concrete for multiple shoring towers to help support the structure.
Until those towers were built, Fuller said crews couldn’t get onto or under the bridge for inspections, because the concrete deck is not supported in places where multiple steel beams have warped away from it.
“I don’t want to induce panic, I don’t want to worry anyone … yes, there was always the potential for a collapse,” said Fuller.
Fuller said since the shoring towers were poured, she doesn’t believe there’s a risk of collapse, but crews have not been certain exactly how the structure will respond once demolition efforts begin.
“They realize there are some unknowns,” said Fuller.
Fuller said there are three things that could possibly delay the timeline of the bridge repairs: Delivery of the steel girders, equipment and weather. Crews will be working through the winter months, but Fuller said that also means they’re at the mercy of weather conditions.