MIAMI – A federal judge has blocked the release of public records that might shed light on the bridge collapse in Miami-Dade that killed six motorists.
The Miami Herald reports U.S. Judge William Stafford ruled Friday that the National Transportation Safety Board exercised its valid federal regulatory authority in keeping the documents about the Florida International University bridge disaster confidential from the media.
Stafford’s decision overrules a state court judge who said in August that the documents are public records under Florida law and cannot be withheld. The Florida Department of Transportation agency had argued that the documents couldn’t be made public due to an ongoing federal investigation into the March 15 collapse.
The newspaper sued the state department after it refused to release the documents, citing orders from the NTSB.