The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent “routine engine maintenance” in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday, as divers recovered the bodies of two of six workers who plunged into the water when it collapsed. The others were presumed dead, and officials said search efforts had been exhausted.
Investigators began collecting evidence from the vessel a day after it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bodies of the two men were located in the morning inside a red pickup submerged in about 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water near the bridge’s middle span, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of Maryland State Police, announced at an evening news conference.
So maybe you’ve heard something I haven’t, according to this timeline, there was only 2-3 minutes between when the ship issued a mayday and the bridge collapsed: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-timeline-911-call-dali-cargo-ship-mayday-maps-construction-worker-recovery/
It sounded like there was 1 police officer already stationed on either end of the bridge, so thats the only reason they were even able to close the bridge before the collapse.
In the time it took them to do that, I can’t see how there would have been time to warn them physically (it’s like a 2 mile bridge). From the article, it sounded like there was confusion about if a crew was even on the bridge. I also don’t know how often / what mechanism police can use to directly contact crews, if there even is one.