SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The operator of Sacramento's landmark Tower Bridge was fired Wednesday after his employer, the state Department of Transportation, was officially informed he was drunk at the time of an accident that killed three people.
The Sacramento County district attorney's office told the department that Mike Souza's blood alcohol level was 0.18 parts per million, department spokesman Gene Berthelsen announced.
By law, a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 is presumed intoxicated.
A spokesman for the district attorney's office said Souza, 38, was under investigation to see if criminal charges should be filed against him.
He was the bridge tender Saturday night when he raised the bridge for a passing tour boat without sounding warning bells, lights or lowering traffic gates.
A pickup truck approaching the bridge in the dark plunged into the Sacramento River. Two people in the truck died. A third body, believed to be that of a man who made a rescue attempt, was recovered from the river Tuesday.
Berthelsen declined comment on a report Tuesday evening on Sacramento television station KCRA that Sousa had a woman in the operator's booth at the time of the accident.
He said the department was launching an investigation into all 16 of its moveable bridges and its training program for operators, even though they have 'a remarkable' safety record.
Saturday's accident in Sacramento was the second in six weeks on a state-operated bridge. Earlier in the summer, four members of a family died when their car plunged into the water near Rio Vista.
Killed in Saturday's accident were Pati Fink, 51, the driver of the pickup truck and a passenger, James Shaughnessy, 36. Another passenger escaped.
The body of a third man, believed to be a transient who tried to rescue the trapped victim, was recovered Tuesday from the river.
Souza was placed on administrative leave immediately following the accident. Berthelson said he has five days to appeal his dismissal.
