Man seriously injured in bridge collapse recalls terrifying moments

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. - A man who nearly lost his life in a Newton County bridge collapse is on the road to recovering physically and emotionally. 

Robert Mullins was working on the Interstate 20 Access Road bridge over the Yellow River last October. 

He was working for B & D Concrete Cutting Inc. 

Mullins' coworker and friend was the first to notice something was wrong.

"All I can remember was looking back at Demario and him telling me the bridge was falling. And then we all just going down. Everything went into the water," Mullins said. 

The bridge had collapsed beneath their feet. 

"It happened so quick. All I know is when I got into the water, my whole body was numb. I could move my head, so I knew I was living," Mullins said. 

Mullins broke nearly every bone in his body and underwent nine surgeries during his month in the hospital. 

Another person who was working that day was hurt. DeMario Battle, Mullins' friend and coworker did not survive. 

"I looked over at DeMario, and he said he couldn't breathe, and then he died," Mullins said. 

One of his attorneys, Tristan Morrison, said Mullins has been through a lot, and he still has long road ahead of him. 

"He's got over 3500 pages of medical records from Grady and his initial hospital stay was over a million dollars," Morrison said. " When I say he's a fighter, he's been through a lot, and he's got a long road to recovery, but we're hopeful someday he'll get there. 

Mullins is now undergoing physical therapy to walk again and is determined to get his life back. 

He said, however, his emotional wounds are going to take some time to heal. 

"Emotionally... I'm kind of messed up emotionally because I watched my friend and coworker die," Mullins said. 

Mullins and his attorneys have filed a civil complaint against the driver of the excavator who was there the day of the accident. 

You can help Mullins by donating to his GoFundMe here. 

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