No conspiracy talk please.
The ship had a catastrophic electrical power failure as it approached the bridge. Wind and tide caused a radical and uncontrolled change of course (see last two Suez canal accidents).
Key Bridge was very old and under constant repair every day for at least the last 30yrs.
It could not have been a better time for the worst to happen. Hour and a half before rush hour. Casualties should be light. Mostly from bridge repair crews.
It's not that old. 1977? The Michigan Avenue Bridge in Chicago started taking traffic in 1920. (No, I wasn't there when it opened 🤣, but I grew up in Chicago) I am absolutely not any sort of architecture expert, but I wonder if this is a side benefit of a bascule bridge having to be made sturdy enough to withstand the winds when it's raised.
IAE, I'm sure you're right. It's awful, but easily could have been much worse.