Woman falls to her death when Florida drawbridge opens while she's on it

[RandySF]

A woman plunged at least five stories to her death Sunday when the bridge she was walking across opened, West Palm Beach police said.

It happened about 1 p.m. as the woman, who has not been named by authorities, was walking her bike on the Royal Park Bridge, which connects West Palm Beach, at Lakeview Avenue, to Palm Beach.

“The woman tried to hang on. There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell five or six stories below where she died landing on concrete,” West Palm Beach police spokesman Mike Jachles told WPTV-News Channel 5.

She was only about 10 feet away from the end of the bridge when she fell, according to WPTV.

Jachles said there is a bridge tender who has safety protocols to follow in terms of lowering the gates when the bridge is going to be raised and those protocols include “making several visual confirmations that there is nobody at either of the spans or past those gates.”

In addition to gates, the bridge is equipped with bells that sound when the bridge is about to be raised.






https://bangordailynews.com/2022/02/07/news/nation/woman-falls-to-her-death-when-florida-drawbridge-opens-while-shes-on-it/

[Emile]

1. Wow, never heard anything like this happening before,

though I'm sure it has many times!

[Tanuki]

7. Very recently, but without a fatality:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/boston.cbslocal.com/2022/01/25/chelsea-street-bridge-truck-video/%3famp

"Two bridge operators were fired after raising the Chelsea Street Bridge with a pickup truck still on it.

It happened Friday on the bridge that connects East Boston and Chelsea.


Cell phone video captured the draw bridge going up with the truck still parked on it.

A Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesperson said two workers did not follow protocol and were terminated.

No one was hurt."

[beaglelover]

2. How tragic. What an awful way to die.

[Chainfire]

3. We are missing something here.

Drawbridges sound alarms and open slowly.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. I Already Have A Bad Picture

She was walking her bike.
Most drawbridges have some place to cradle, and let gravity hold you on the bridge.
I fear she either tried to race that 10' or was worried about the bike. I sure hope she didn't die over her bike.
We will find out more as the investigation concludes.

[JanMichael]

4. That sounds horrifying.

[malaise]

5. I hope her family sues the shit out of those in charge

Damned madness

[smirkymonkey]

6. How horrible! What a terrible way to go.

I can't imagine what her last moments were like, hanging on for dear life and knowing that she wasn't going to make it.

[peggysue2]

8. What a horrific story!

Hard to figure out how this happened with the safety protocols normally in place. Or was someone asleep at the wheel (bridge instrumentation)?

Awful.