odom then mistook the radar image of the bridge for another tow barge. as he tried to maneuver towards it, his front left barge struck the concrete south pier. the other two barges struck the bridge itself, knocking the bridge and the train track 48 inches out of alignment. when odom struck the bridge, he didn't know it, in part because he couldn't see the bridge through the fog since it was unlighted. odom mistakenly believed he had run aground. inexplicably, the collision bent the track in an "s" shape, but didn't break it, which explains why the electrical current running through the tracks didn't break, either. >> had the track been severed, sure, that signal would have gone off down the line and there would have been a warning in mobile that something was wrong on the track over bayou canot.