No, that happened before we moved here. We came in 92, although my husband's people were from here. One of his cousin's died in the bridge collapse. We have a River Museum here where there is a scale model of the bridge with all the vehicles placed where they were actually on the bridge (I don't know how they know). They show most of the film that was taken of the accident. There is a memorial where the bridge used to come into the town street. Most everyone who lived here at the time was affected in some way. I have a good friend who owns and runs a local restaurant who lost both her husband and her five year old son. She has never remarried, and works way too hard. She volunteers for everything. She is the woman in the film with the real black hair. She sells Mothman souvineers in her cafe. When we first moved here the "other" bridge in town over the Kanawah River was old and rickity. When that bridge would get more than six cars on it, people would stop at the onramp and wait until the car in front of them was over the hump of the bridge before they would go onto the bridge........and NOBODY would honk at them. Everyone knew the fear that the community felt, and accepted it as a valid reason to hold up traffic.
Thanks for answering my ? & with so much detail!