jim roth and his wife have taken several cruises. he says that by far, the costa concordia was the worst. back to you, frank. >> they just happened to get off on the stop before? or they were scheduled to get off? >> reporter: i think they were scheduled to get off on that ship as part of their original itinerary. they didn't know -- who would have forecasted that the next stop would have been quite a tragedy for them. >> i guess so. good timing on their part. thank you, gil diaz live at sfo. >>> a man who helped save his warship during world war ii will receive an award today. it will be presented to 95-year- old carl clark. he will get a navy and marine commendation medal. back this 1945, he was on the uss aaron ward when it was hit by six kamikaze planes. he put out fires and carried injured sailors to safety despite having a broken collarbone. >>> today toll officials will talk about the planned closure of the bay bridge during presidents' day weekend. the span will be closed in the westbound direction. the entire upper deck will

jim roth and his wife arrived at san francisco international airport last night safe and sound. the reason they were not part of the shipwreck is because they got off at the stop before the crash. they met their son last night. it was an emotional reunion. they are from houston, which is about 10 miles east of modesto. the reason they got off the ship in the first place, there was a schedule change in their itinerary. otherwise, they would have stayed on the costa concordia. they ended up at the same hotel that the stranded passengers were taken to. >> i locked over at the hotel and there was -- i looked over at the hotel and there was a couple from our dinner seating which made me happy and a few minutes later the other couple walked in so we knew they were safe. but the stories they had to tell were unbelievable. and, of course, all they had was the clothes on their back. >> reporter: jim roth says he had the chance to meet the ship's captain, francesco schettino. he wasn't very impressed by him. the reason they were on the cruise in the first place is that the couple was cele