Jule McGee 6

Project 13 ran for five years on WTVT, with 231 original programs produced 52 weeks a year. Economics and programming decisions brought an end to the series. John Ferrugia left Channel 13 to join the CBS network and eventually became a reporter for their investigative series West 57th. He’s now an anchor/reporter for KMGH-TV in Denver. Larry Elliston took his folksy approach and created a long-running series of video shorts for WTVT called Down Home Florida, with profiles of people and places of interest in Florida. He later joined host/producer Jack Hanna and traveled the world for Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures, spotlighting the animal kingdom.

Ray Blush was appointed Channel 13’s news director and Jule became chief photographer for the entire newsroom. His job description included helping cover breaking stories when there were no other photographers available; to order and maintain all photographic equipment; to work with photographers to help them sharpen their skills; and to perform all other tasks related to film and video equipment.

McGee gradually worked his way into overseeing all the technical aspects of Channel 13’s news gathering operation.

It was a time when the station was gradually evolving into a videotape-only newsroom and phasing out the traditional “one-man” bands, “reporters who shot and edited their own stories, wrote the scripts…the whole shebang.”

Little did Jule know that the most significant story of his entire career would occur as he was transitioning into management.

St. Petersburg's Sunshine Skyway was a Tampa Bay landmark since its construction in 1954. In response to heavier traffic on the Skyway, the state added a second duplicate span in the late 1960s.

Hundreds of cargo and passenger ships passed beneath the mammoth structure every year with no serious incidents until one fateful day.

It was May 9, 1980. President Jimmy Carter was trying to get hostages out of Iran and Ronald Reagan was on the campaign trail trying to become the next president.

The time was about 7:20 a.m., near the middle of the morning commuter rush. It was raining heavily all over the Tampa Bay area as a phosphate freighter made its way from the Gulf of Mexico towards the Port of Tampa – aiming the bow between two support beams of the main span of the Skyway. The blinding squalls were producing high winds and visibility was zero. The ship’s radar was functioning and what should have been a challenging but normal approach went horribly wrong.

The worst that could happen did. The Summit Venture, piloted by Capt. John Lerro, slammed into the number two south pier of the center span of the bridge. 1,261 feet of the span, cantilever, approach, and roadway collapsed. Traffic at the highest point of the center span rolled off the precipice 150 feet downwards into the stormy waters of Tampa Bay.

Thirty-five people died that morning, most of whom were riding on a southbound Greyhound Bus that was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time when it plummeted into the Bay.

(Left - Richard Hornbuckle's car dangles over the edge of the Skyway Bridge's western span. The Summit Venture hovers in the background)

“It took a while for word to get to us,” said Jule. “It was a mean morning. Not many people had gotten into work yet in the newsroom. There weren’t any cell phones in those days. First of all, it took a while for the disaster to get reported from the bridge. In that weather, it was hard to really tell just how bad it was until you got right up on it.”

THE AFTERMATH OF THE SKYWAY TRAGEDY. STILL FRAME AT RIGHT IS FROM JULE McGEE'S CAMERA

“We got a boat at the base of the approach to the Skyway and zoomed out there as quickly as we could. It wasn’t easy getting through the nasty weather but as the morning progressed the rain seemed to lighten up. Meanwhile, Duane Martin had positioned his live truck where I could shoot a signal to him from my boat and relay it to the Channel 13 tower in Tampa. Alan Wendt wrangled a helicopter and got us some aerial footage. We had to get our wits together real fast, put some facts on paper, and go live from the boat and we did. Everything we needed to go live was with us on the boat. There was me, reporter/anchor Neil Vicino and our boat Captain, Jack Knowling. Tim Smith arrived at Ft. DeSoto Park’s fishing pier where the bodies were being brought in. We all pitched in to cover the story of our lives. As we got near the scene, I began to see the devastation – something like you only see in disaster movies. I just couldn’t believe it. There was this car dangling on the bridge just feet from the edge of the broken road angled toward the water.”

The car’s driver, Richard Hornbuckle, and his three passengers were able to get out safely in a heart stopping ordeal. There was another survivor whose car fell on the deck of the Summit Venture.

“I approached the Summit Venture and there were parts of the Skyway bridge draped across its bow," recalled Jule. "It felt like I was in 'The Twilight Zone’…I guess the word is surreal. We bounced around out there, did a report for Pulse Plus! at noon and later the authorities came around and asked us to get out of the area.”

“I asked myself over and over, ‘Am I dreaming this or did this really happen.’ This was something like what happened when you had a bad nightmare…but there it was before me. Networks and television stations all over the country wanted some of what we had on tape. It was a long day but one we will never forget even a second of. It was the worst thing I had ever covered in my entire career. It was emotional and it stayed with me for a very long time.”