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[Ripples]

Pedestrian bridge collapses after N. Carolina race


CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 21 (Reuters) - Dozens of people were injured late on Saturday when a pedestrian bridge outside Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina collapsed onto a highway as fans left a NASCAR Winston Cup race, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities, and officials were uncertain how many of the estimated 75 people on the bridge when it buckled onto the southbound lanes of Highway 29 were transported to area hospitals.

"There were about 75 people on that span of the bridge when it collapsed," track president Humpy Wheeler said. "All we can do right now is pray for the people who were injured seriously."

Televised pictures showed the concrete bridge buckled in the center.

Wheeler said the bridge was built in 1995 for pedestrians to cross over the highway to reach the track.

About 170,000 people attended Saturday's race at the track in Concord, north of Charlotte.