Minnesota Teen Survives Horror Bridge Collapse, Uses $65,000 Payout To Join ISIS


A Minnesota teen survived the Minnesota bridge collapse on I-35 in 2007 and claims the incident made him realize that “God saved him for a purpose.” However, that “purpose” wasn’t what many had expected as the teen is believed to have joined ISIS last year using the $65,000 payout he received following the accident.

Mohamed Roble, who is now 18-years-old, survived the Minnesota bridge collapse in 2007. Roble was a small child on a school bus in 2007 when the I-35W bridge collapsed sending the bus plummeting 30 feet almost landing in a river below. Roble suffered emotional and physical injuries and was awarded $65,000 from the incident. However, since Roble was just a young child at the time of the accident, his award money was held until his 18th birthday.

Surprisingly, the Daily Mail reports, just six months after receiving his payout on his 18th birthday, Roble used some of the money to travel to Istanbul where he proceeded on to Syria. The teen was living with an uncle in Syria when he joined ISIS.

Three other Minnesota men are currently standing trial for attempting to leave the United States to join ISIS. During their trial, it was revealed that Mohamed Roble, the teen who cheated death as a child, was also involved in the plot to join the Islamic State and that the bridge collapse payout helped fund his trip out of the country.

Though the men could not talk Roble into paying for their trips to Syria, they note that the teen became very loose with his cash when he arrived in Syria, handing out money “like candy.” The men claim that they stayed in contact with Roble once he arrived in Syria via Skype and noted that he was paying for ISIS fighters’ weddings and cars.

It appears that the Minnesota bridge collapse, which killed 13 people, sparked Roble’s “religious” ideas. According to therapy records, Roble was on the school bus along with five of his siblings when the bridge collapsed. Following the accident, the therapists said Mohamed was the most traumatized of the siblings and suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and a host of other issues.

The therapist noted during the trial that secured Roble’s $65,000 payout that the child suffered great stress from the incident and had turned to “religion” following the accident. The therapist claims that Roble coped with the aftermath of the bridge collapse by holding on to the belief that God had “saved him for a reason.” However, at the time of his counseling, no one would have predicted the extent that his new religious beliefs would change over the years.

Roble won his lawsuit and had at least $65,000 in his bank account that he could access on his 18th birthday. However, it is believed he may have had a lot more cash in the bank as he was also involved in two other lawsuits regarding the bridge collapse. Those two lawsuits were settled outside of court with the rulings sealed and kept private. Therefore, it is possible that Roble left the United States and entered Syria with a considerable amount of money.

While Roble was able to make it to Syria before his intentions to join ISIS were known, the men he left behind in Minnesota were not. Two of them men have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder abroad with five other men charged with one count each of conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization.

[Image by Morry Gash/AP Photo]

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